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Prawn Risotto with Pumpkin and Bacon Pangrattato

Creamy, sweet, earthy and salty. This is a real Ocean and Earth combination that works.
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Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Butternut pumpkin, peeled and diced
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 L chicken stock
  • 3 bacon rashers, finely sliced
  • 4 - 5 thick pieces 'day-old' bread (ciabatta or sourdough or similar)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  • 300 g large uncooked prawns, peeled and de-veined
  • 1 L chicken stock
  • 1 brown onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 celery stick, finely diced
  • 2 cups Arborio rice
  • ⅔ cup white wine
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method
 

Roast the Pumpkin
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper and add the pumpkin. Add a splash of olive oil, a little salt and a grind of black pepper. Toss to coat and bake for 30–40 minutes, turning every now and then, until pumpkin is tender and starting to get crisp on the edges. Set aside
Make the Pangrattato
  1. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a frying pan and cook the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
  2. Rip the bread into small chunks and place in the bowl of a food processor with 1 of the garlic cloves. Pulse until rough breadcrumbs are formed.
  3. Splash a little olive oil back into the pan you cooked the bacon and toss the breadcrumb mix into it with the cooked bacon. Stir until bread is golden. Set aside.
Cook the Prawns
  1. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add the prawns. Cook until just cooked, about 2 minutes each side. Remove and set aside.
Make the Risotto
  1. Put the chicken stock in a saucepan to heat. Keep on a simmer.
  2. Add another small splash of olive oil to the pan and add the onion and celery. Cook for 4–5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
  3. Add the remaining garlic and cook for another minute, then add the rice and stir to coat the grains in the oil, for around 1 minute.
  4. Add the wine and stir until the liquid to be absorbed.
  5. Add a cupful of hot stock and stir over medium heat until the liquid is absorbed. Keep doing this for around 20 minutes, adding a ladle at a time and allowing the liquid to absorb each time, or until the rice is just cooked. You may not need all the stock; you want the risotto to be fluid, not dry.
  6. Remove from the heat, add the butter and Parmesan cheese and mix in with a wooden spoon. This helps the risotto get nice and creamy.
  7. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
  8. Now gently fold in the cooked pumpkin and prawns. Allow to warm through, no more than 20 seconds.
  9. Immediately spoon into plates and top with the pangrattato.