Pumpkin risotto with a fancy crumb

The thing about this risotto is the combination of sweetness and creaminess offset against salty crunch. Honestly, it is a perfectly balanced bowl of comfort and health. So easy to eat, methodical mouthful after mouthful, a meditation in texture and satisfaction. Don't be fooled if I'm watching TV with this on my lap (ahem) - I am awake to every tumble of silky coated grain of rice on my tongue. I so badly wanted another bowl but my hips are always in conversation with my conscience these days.



I must credit the idea of a hazelnut crumb to my old boss and tele celeb chef Simon Rimmer. He knows how to pack flavour into food. Being a devout carnivore running a vegetarian restaurant gives him a perspective that many vegie chefs miss: that even though it's meat free, vegetarian food can be rammed with flavour and texture and usually, in the case of Greens, calories. Sexy and decadent and not earnest in the slightest. All these things have a place; even vegetarians can be naughty sometimes.

This risotto is only naughty in the sense that it has lots of butter, my meaty inclusions of meltingly fried panchetta and a good wallop of Parmesan...is that such a bad thing when you're eating all that pumpkin?

Pumpkin Risotto
(serves 6)

1 butternut squash (I call them pumpkins) about 800g, sliced into chunks with skin on, pips removed
5 tbs olive oil
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock 
75g unsalted butter
1 onion,finely diced
300g risotto rice
sea salt and pepper

for the crumb

1 cup hazelnuts, dry toasted in a pan then crushed in a mortar and pestle so that they have broken down into about 1/4 of their size
1 cup grated Parmesan
6 rashes of panchetta,cooked in a pan until crispy and the fat is a  deep gold then crumble by hand into small pieces

Method

Pre heat the oven to 220 C

Put the pumpkin chunks into  a large roasting tray and toss in approx 3 tbs of olive oil, turning the pieces so that all are coated. Cover with foil and bake until soft. About 1hour. 

When the pumpkin is cool scrape the flesh from the skins and cut into small chunks. Don't worry if it's squishy and doesn't hold shape, it will be cooked down later in the risotto anyway.

Heat the stock on the hob till very hot, then turn down to low and keep at a gentle simmer.

Melt 50g of the butter with the rest of the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan or casserole dish and fry the onion on a gentle heat until very soft - for about 15 mins (this is important as it really adds flavour, just don't burn the onion - STIR!)

Add the rice and take the pan off the heat for a minute to coat each grain in the buttery onion mix. Put back on the hob and turn the heat up to medium.

With a ladle add some stock to the pan - about 2 ladles worth - and simmer while stirring until the rice has absorbed the liquid. 

After 10 mins of this process - stock, stir, absorb - add half the pumpkin chunks and continue to cook the rice for another 10 minutes or until the rice has a creamy coating but is still a little al dente. I like my risotto to have a bit of sauciness, others like theirs dryer - but the main thing is that the rice holds it shape, is a little firm to the bite yet covered in a creamy buttery savoury coat. 

Add the remaining pumpkin, the last of the butter, a grind of pepper and a pinch of salt and cover for 5 minutes with a lid while you put the crumb ingredients together.

For the crumb, simply combine the hazelnuts,panchetta pieces and grated Parmesan in a bowl - you can add some chopped parsley too for colour. 

Serve the risotto with a good handful of crumb on top.