Pumpkin Risotto

Method

1. Soak 150g white rice in water for about 1 hour. Peel the pumpkin, rinse it and cut it into pieces about half a finger joint thick. Dice the onion. Trim the oyster mushrooms, soak them in lightly salted water for 5 minutes, then rinse and drain.
2. Heat a little cooking oil in a pan and cook 100g oyster mushrooms with 1/2 teaspoon salt over high heat until they dry out, add a little black pepper and tip them into a bowl.
3. Put 10g butter and 1 tablespoon cooking oil in the pan, and once the butter melts add 350g pumpkin and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until just tender. Divide the pumpkin into two equal parts.
4. Blend half the pumpkin with 200ml water until smooth.
5. Melt 20g butter in the pan, cook the onion for 30 to 45 seconds until fragrant, add the soaked rice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds.
6. Pour in the blended pumpkin and 150ml water, bring to a simmer, then add 17g parmesan and stir until it melts.
7. Add the remaining cooked pumpkin and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until the rice is soft, then turn off the heat. Spoon into bowls, scatter over more parmesan and arrange the mushrooms on top.

Tips

• Poke a chopstick into a piece of pumpkin: if it slides through easily, the pumpkin is done.
• Where arborio rice is hard to find, well soaked white rice gives a similar creaminess.
• Cook the mushrooms over high heat until dry before setting them aside, since wet mushrooms make the rice soggy.
• Stirring the rice in butter for 20 to 30 seconds before the liquid goes in keeps the grains firm.