Chicken and pumpkin risotto

I have cooked risotto once before but if I remember rightly I didn't have half the things I needed and between that, trying to keep it kid-friendly and trying to short cut the standing around stirring thing it just ended up being a total flop, no-one wanted to eat it.

When I was doing the menu plan for this week I thought "stuff the kids, I'm cooking this for me" and, because doing anything as simple as following instructions in a book is just boring, my first successful risotto is in fact my own recipe.

500g butternut pumpkin, diced
olive oil spray
rosemary
sea salt
1.5L chicken stock
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g butter
500g chicken breast fillet, diced
1 white onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 cups firmly packed baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Spread the diced pumpkin on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spray with oil and sprinkle lightly with rosemary and salt. Bake at 220°C until tender.


2. Heat the stock and wine in a saucepan and keep it at a low simmer.


3. Heat the oil and butter in a large non-stick pan, add the chicken and cook until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the pan.


4. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until soft and golden. Stir in the rice until well coated.


5. Add the stock 1/2 cup at a time stirring constantly over a medium heat, each time waiting until all the liquid is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. It should take about 20 minutes to do this. Taste test the rice, if it's still a little on the firm side add hot water in small amounts and continue stirring until the rice is cooked through.


6. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the baby spinach, lemon juice and Parmesan and cook for a few minutes more. Add the cooked pumpkin and fold through gently. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

I'm quite pleased with how this turned out, 'twas yum! My dad was at my place for dinner, but Adam was away, so there were 5 of us eating. David and Caitlin were not impressed, Tom asked for seconds. There's quite a bit left still, I reckon this recipe would serve 6 adults pretty easily.