Sunday, February 17, 2013

Pumpkin and Olive Oil Risotto With Hunter Valley Verjuice


This recipe was supplied by Bob Leonard from The Hunter Valley Verjuice company. You can purchase verjuice from The Fresh Ingredient, in fact you can purchase all the ingredients for this dish from The Fresh Ingredient! This recipe serves 4, adjust ingredients to increase or decrease servings.

Ingredients
  • 1.5 litres of chicken stock
  • 1 x large onion
  • 20ml olive oil
  • 75grams of unsalted butter
  • 700 grams of peeled pumpkin cut into 2cm pieces
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 400 grams of Arborio rice
  • 150ml of Hunter Valley Verjuice
  • 80 grams of Parmigianino cheese
  • 2 teaspoons of chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 60ml of Hunter Valley Verjuice for deglazing the pumpkin

Method
  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
  • Heat the stock in a saucepan
  • In a wide-based pan or shallow-sided large saucepan, sauté the onion in the olive oil and butter until golden
  • Place the pumpkin pieces on a tray, drizzle with additional extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked pepper
  • Bake for 10 mins until pumpkin edges become a little caramelised
  • Deglaze the pumpkin with about 1 – 2 tablespoons of Hunter Valley Verjuice and cook for a further 2 minutes
  • When the onion is cooked, add the rice and stir to coat
  • Cook for 1 -2 minutes, then increase the temperature
  • Make a well in the centre of the pot and add the remaining Hunter valley verjuice and continue to stir until the liquid evaporates
  • Reduce heat, adding a full ladle of stock and stirring until all this stock has been taken up by the rice
  • Repeat the process – adding the stock ladle by ladle, stirring continuously until ¾ of the stock has been used – it should take 15 – 20 minutes
  • Check seasoning and add salt, Add half of the pumpkin and its juices
  • Increase the heat, add last of the stock stirring continuously until the rice is cooked
  • Remove from the heat and stir in about half of the Parmigianino cheese
  • Top the risotto with the remaining pumpkin, drizzle with olive oil, cracked pepper and parsley.