Easy Baked Mushroom and Pumpkin Brown Risotto 🌱

This baked brown risotto requires very little stirring and the method can be used as a basis for all your baked risottos. It's easy to change up your vegetables for variety. For example, you can substitute pumpkin for sweet potato and add kale chips, spinach, rocket or peas at the very end.

To make it more substantial, you can stir through chicken pieces at the end . To make it vegetarian, you can substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth. For garlic sensitive people, you can use Pukara garlic infused oil or not use garlic at all.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups Chef's Choice brown medium grain rice (this is delicious)
500 g mixture of small swiss and/or portobello mushrooms, debris rinsed from mushrooms and drained, sliced roughly
10 g dried porcini mushrooms soaked for a few hours in 1 cup water, if you have time ( don't discard the water)
1kg jap pumpkin, diced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup dry white wine, optional
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon dried oregano or thyme
balsamic vinegar

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium heavy based saucepan over medium heat and then add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes, then add the crushed garlic. Stir for another minute.
Add the rice and stir to coat the rice with oil.
Add 3 cups broth, porcini mushrooms with the cup of reserved porcini infussimmer, cover and then bake in the oven at 190 C. Cook for about 50 mins. It will appear dry but don't worry because you will be adding some more liquid to the pot.
While the rice is baking, prepare your pumpkin by cutting it into small pieces and adding it to an oven tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake in the oven until just soft. The time to cook will depend on the size of your pumpkin pieces.
To prepare the mushrooms, warm two tablespoons olive oil in a large frypan. Add the cleaned, sliced mushrooms to the pot with some salt and dried oregano or thyme. Cook on medium heat, until the mushrooms are darker and have soaked up most of their own juices.
Remove the saucepan from the oven at around the 50 min mark. Pour in the remaining cup of heated broth, Parmesan, wine, butter, salt, and pepper. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Stir in the mushroom and pumpkin mixture and any remaining juices and season to taste with salt and pepper. You can also stir through some spinach or kale chips at this stage as well if you like. Mix well.
Add more parmesan. Drizzle with some red wine or balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!