Pumpkin, Spinach and Chorizo Risotto

This risotto is pure, creamy comfort food! I rarely use grains that aren’t wholegrains, but this risotto is the one exception, as the arborio rice turn so creamy and has such a wonderful texture. The dish is the perfect balance between salty and sweet with the flavoursome chorizo and soft, sweet pumpkin. It can easily be made vegan with a few simple swaps, just see the notes at the end. I hope you enjoy this winter warmer as much as we do!

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

¼ jap pumpkin (choose a bright orange one)

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

Sea salt & black pepper

1 litre quality chicken stock

1 brown onion, finely chopped

2 French shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 chorizo sausage (grass fed), sliced
(I sometimes have to lightly fry the sausage first so that I am able to slice it)

300g arborio rice

175mL white wine

2 handfuls baby spinach leaves

1 tbsp. ghee or butter

50g parmesan, freshly grated

Parsley, roughly chopped

Method:

1.     Preheat to oven to 200C and line a tray with baking paper.

2.     Remove the skin and chop the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces. Place it on the tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread the pieces apart and place in the oven to roast for 20 minutes or until soft and caramelising around the edges. Turn the oven off and keep it warm. You can add your serving bowls to the oven 5 minutes before serving to warm them so that they don’t cool the risotto.

3.     Pour the stock into a small-medium saucepan and warm over a medium low heat. This is where I add some additional aromatics to enhance the flavour, such as thyme, parsley, rosemary, garlic or some celery if I have some floating around. Not essential, but helpful. The key to a good risotto is in the flavour of the stock. Allow to warm and infuse.  

4.     Meanwhile, heat a large, deep frying pan (or a shallow saucepan) over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots & garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the sliced chorizo sausage and fry until browned.  

5.     Add the rice to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Pour over the white wine and let it bubble and reduce until the alcohol has evaporated.

6.     Keeping the pan over medium heat, add about ½ to 1 cup of the stock to the rice and stir continually until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Repeat until all of the stock has been used. By now it should be creamy and the rice should be tender. If the rice is still undercooked, add a splash of water and stir. Finally, add the baby spinach leaves and stir until just wilted.

7.     Take the pan off the heat, add the ghee, then scatter over half of the parmesan and parsley. Cover and leave for a few minutes so the rice can absorb any excess liquid. Give it a final stir and spoon it into warmed bowls. Top with roasted pumpkin, and scatter over the remaining cheese and parsley. Serve hot and enjoy!

To make vegan, simply swap the following:

Chicken stock – vegetable stock or ‘chicken-style’ stock

Chorizo – vegan chorizo or sausage (or salty, flavoursome meat substitute of choice)

Ghee – olive oil or vegan butter

Parmesan – Nutritional yeast or vegan cheese