A creamy risotto is the ultimate comfort food on cold winter days. For this, I’ve given the classic risotto a twist: wheat berries are substituted for rice, and parmesan is swapped out for Japanese miso paste for an exotic umami flavor. Rounded off with blue cheese and nutty pumpkin seed oil, this is guaranteed to be a winter veggie highlight!
½ Hokkaido pumpkin
3 garlic cloves
2 rosemary sprigs
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 onion
20g butter
230g wheat berries (Ebly)
200ml white wine
700ml vegetable broth
2 tsp white miso paste
60g blue cheese
pumpkin seed oil, for serving
salt and pepper
For 2 people – Prep: 50 min
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Deseed the pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes and put in a roasting tin.
Crush the garlic cloves with the palm of your hand so that they burst open slightly. Add them to the tin with the pumpkin.
Finely chop the rosemary needles and sprinkle over the pumpkin. Mix with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and chilli flakes and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, shaking the tin a few times so that the pumpkin bakes evenly.
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion. Melt 10g butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes.
Add the wheat berries and fry for 1 minute, then deglaze with the white wine. Once the white wine has reduced, add 600ml vegetable stock, cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
When the pumpkin is done, remove the skin from the garlic cloves and crush them with a knife to create a coarse garlic puree.
Add the remaining 100ml vegetable stock to the wheat berries with the miso paste, remaining 10g butter, garlic puree and baked pumpkin and simmer gently, while stirring, until almost all the liquid is absorbed and the ‘risotto’ has a creamy texture . Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the risotto between 2 plates. Cut the blue cheese into small cubes and sprinkle over the risotto, drizzle with pumpkin seed oil and serve.
