3565. KABOCHA BACON PARMESAN RISOTTO

serves 4 (or 2 gluttons)


1/2 kabocha, seeded
6-8 slices of bacon, depending on your love of bacon
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4-1 cup finely chopped white onion
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
1 cup of rice
3.5 cups chicken broth
1/2-3/4 cup white wine
1/2-3/4 cup of grated parmesan regianno cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Cut up the kabocha into 1-inch chunks. Put it in some aluminum foil, and drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for about 50 minutes. At the same time, fry up the bacon. To make it extra crispy, throw it into the oven for a couple of minutes next to the pumpkin, but make sure not to burn it. Cut up the bacon into bits, according to your bacon bit size preferences. Once finished, take the kabocha out and carefully (it’s hot!) remove the green skins. Mash up the kabocha with a potato masher, cover, and set aside. Do this earlier in the day to shave an hour off your dinnertime cook time. In a frying pan, cook the onions in the olive oil on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes (until translucent). Add in the garlic and cook for about a minute on low heat. Add the rice and stir constantly until it becomes translucent as well (4-5 minutes). Slowly, add in about a cup of broth and some of the wine. Stir constantly so the rice doesn’t burn on the bottom. When it starts to look like most of the water has been absorbed, add in another cup of broth and more wine. Repeat. And then do it again. Once the broth has been all used up, taste the rice to see if it’s cooked. If it isn’t, add in more water until the rice is ready. Stir in the mashed pumpkin, bacon bits, and cheese until good and gooey. Suddenly, it’s risotto!


bacon recipe source: Recipes from Honshu, September 23, 2013