Orzotto alla zucca

I honestly thought orzotto was made with orzo pasta until I decided to make it myself and discovered that "orzo" is actually Italian for barley. After seeing a photo of a pumpkin orzotto I set about finding various recipes. I settled on this one, a combination of different ones, using rosemary but sage was another common herb. 

Even though this only has few ingredients it's full of flavour.

Ingredients
serves 4
250g pearl barley
500 g pumpkin (or butternut squash), peeled, deseeded and cubed
2 garlic cloves

3 sprigs of rosemary

2 carrots, chopped

1 escallion shallot, finely chopped
2 celery, chopped 
1tsp chilli flakes

4 tbsp olive oil

50g butter (optional)

50g Italian vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated (optional)
salt

ground pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Place the cubed pumpkin, garlic cloves and 2 sprigs of rosemary into a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of ground pepper and roast in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes until the pumpkin is soft and charred, to bring out the sweetness of the vegetable.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy-based saucepan heat up a tablespoon of oil on a high heat before adding the chopped shallot. Turn the heat down a little as not to burn the shallot. Add the chilli flakes and chopped celery and continue to cook until soft. 

Add the chopped carrots and 500ml of veg stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until the carrots are soft. 

Next remove the rosemary from the roasting tray. Squeeze out the roasted garlic. Then add the contents of the tray into the saucepan, scraping off any bits 'n pieces.

Either with a hand blender, or in a food processor, blitz it all into a puree. Add more stock if it's too thick.

Then back in the saucepan add the rest of the veg stock to the puree, add the pearl barley and a fresh sprig of rosemary.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

Cook for about 35-45 minutes until the pearl barley has cooked and the dish has thickened to the consistency of a risotto. Add some water if it becomes too thick. Stir regularly to avoid the orzotto sticking and burning.

When it's ready and if you prefer a creamier finish add the butter and grated cheese and fold in gently.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with a pinch of salt.