Saffron, punkin, pea and spinach risotto. Yum!

Recipe (for 2):

Take the bottom half of a butternut and cut into small cubes, toss in oil and dry roast at 180 degrees for about 30-35 minutes until caramelised nicely (we typically cook this after a roast and only have the bottom bit of a punkin left over...)

1 litre of strong chook stock (I use cubes)
1 whole onion
a big pinch of saffron strands - 20-30 of them or something

• Boil all that lot until the onion is cooked and you have a strong, yellow and strongly saffron flavoured stock. keep the lid on as you'll need most of the liquid.

1/2 - 2/3 of a cup of risotto rice
30g of butter
1/2 cup white wine
2/3 cup frozen peas
loose handful of fresh spinach
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or other steenky hard cheese

• melt butter in heavy bottomed pot at a quite low temp
• add rice and cook in the butter for a minute or two
• add the wine and cook down - it should go really starchy at this point
• start adding the stock and cooking down adding stock and stirring as you go
• this stage usually takes 15 minutes for me

Once the rice is nice and fat and cooked you can do the last bit. I like my risotto to be reasonably wet, I don't like really gluggy risottos and look for there to be some liquid visible when eating.

• add the peas and cook for a couple of minutes
• add punkin bits
• add parmesan to taste and stir all this lot through
• finally add spinach and stir through until it is cooked but not mushy

Serve adding more cheese on top if you're lee :)