• 300gr/7 1/2oz risotto rice (Arborio rice)
• 225gr/8oz pumpkin, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 liter/ ¾ pint chicken or vegetabe stock
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 handful baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 125ml/4floz dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Sauté the pumpkin cubes in a little olive oil until tender. Set aside.

Bring the stock to a simmer in a pan.

In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook the chopped onion until transparent. Stir in the sage. Add the rice and stir to coat every grain. Add the wine and cook, stirring until the wine has been absorbed. Pour in enough warm stock to cover the rice completely, and continue to cook, stirring often, until all liquid is absorbed. Add the warm stock a ladleful at a time, cooking and stirring over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes until the rice is almost tender. The constant stirring allows the rice to release its starch into the cooking liquid, resulting in the characteristic risotto creaminess. Add pumpkin and spinach. Remove from the heat, beat in the grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and leave to stand for about a minute before serving on warm plates. Sprinkle with extra grated Parmesan cheese and decorate with a sage leave.

The perfect risotto is creamy but not solid, and the rice should still have a little bite at the centre of each grain. If the rice is particularly absorbent and all the stock is used before it is tender, add some hot water.