Asparagus and pumpkin risotto

Ingredients

• 400g pumpkin
• 1 onion, sliced
• 350g Arborio rice
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves only
• Approx 1 ½ litres hot chicken stock
• 1 large cloves garlic, sliced
• 6-8 large asparagus spears
• 8 baby asparagus
• 100g sheep's cheese, grated
• Truffle oil to drizzle
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1.Pre-heat the oven to 190˚C.

2.Peel and chop the pumpkin into small cubes. Place in a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven until soft - approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove and keep warm.

3.Lightly fry the onion and garlic in hot olive oil until softened, then add the rosemary and cook for a further minute. Add the rice and stir for approximately 2 minutes until the grains begin to turn translucent. Add a ladleful of stock and stir until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding and cooking out ladles of stock until the rice is creamy and tender.

4.Meanwhile remove the woody ends from the larger asparagus and chop into inch long pieces. Steam the asparagus over a pan of boiling water until tender – roughly five minutes for the larger spears and three minutes for the baby ones. Once cooked, immediately plunge into ice cold water

5.When the risotto is almost done, mix through the grated cheese, pumpkin and chopped asparagus continue to heat through for a minute or two. Drizzle with a little truffle oil, finish with a grind of fresh pepper and serve.