Roasted Pumpkin and Pancetta Risotto

Some people might know that I don't really like having left overs, regardless whether it is left over cooked food, or left over ingredients. Therefore I always write down exactly what I need for each meal before I go for my grocery shopping, and I always try to cook JUST enough for the meal... haha... so anti-Asian!!!! Asian always tend to over-cook, especially when you have guests over! The theory is 'you need to cook more than enough, otherwise it makes you look bad for not having enough food!'. But I reckon there is a difference between 'just enough' and 'not enough'!!!!

When I see left over ingredients in the fridge, I always want to use it up asap!!! And this time, it's the chicken stock! The first thing that came to my mind was RISOTTO!!! I quickly went to my cookbook collection and flipped through my Jamie Oliver series because he has some awesome risotto recipes! 'Roasted squash (pumpkin we call it here!), sage, chestnut and pancetta risotto'.... Ooooo that sounds nice! But to avoid MORE left over in the fridge, I omitted the sage and chestnut but instead I added in some dills - another left over ingredient I found in the fridge!

Serve 3

Ingredients

1/2 butternut squash, diced, de-seed

1/2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 small dried chilli

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

6 slices of pancetta

a handful of chopped dill

1 basic risotto recipe (you can find the recipe in one of my older posts)

1) Preheat oven to 190C. Bash up the coriander seed and chilli with a pinch of sal and pepper in a pestle and mortar, and dust this over the diced pumpkin with a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss around until completely coated then bake for around 30 minutes or until soft to touch. Remove from oven to cool.

2) Place the pancetta into the oven and bake for 15 minute or until crisp.

3) Once the pumpkin is cooled, mash it with a fork, then add this to the end stage of risotto (before adding the butter and cheese) and stir to mix well.

4) When the risotto is fully done after adding the butter and cheese, add in the chopped dill and mix well.

5) Plate it up with a dollop of risotto and crispy pancetta on top.

OK... this risotto has become my other favourite!!!! The pumpkin adds the sweetness to it, and the coriander seed and chilli gives the dish the spice in tongue which is a totally opposite character to the pumpkin! By adding the dill in, it helps to give the dish some contrasting colour and the crispy pancetta was awesome!!!! If you want to go for a healthier option, you might want to try using kangaroo pancetta which has much less fat in it!

Also, I actually roasted the pumpkin the night before to save some time!!! Just a little hint if you want to make this as a week night dinner!