Risotto is so easy to make, if you have patience. This recipe normally makes Ana swoon but at a recent lunch with Marc, her heart just wasn’t in it. So make sure that when you tackle this you give it your all – and serve it up to someone you love!

One half Jap or Kent pumpkin (or about 500gms of any other pumpkin you like to roast)

2 cups Calasparra or Abrorio rice

2 shallots

2 cloves garlic

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

75 gms butter

Olive oil

Pine nuts

Parmesan

Parsley

Cut the pumpkin into cubes, toss in olive oil and roast for about 25 minutes or until crisping at the edges. Make sure the pumpkin is soft all the way through – this is important for flavouring the risotto.

Melt the butter, adding a splash of olive oil so that it doesn’t burn. Finely dice the shallots and sautee in the butter, about 5-10 minutes or until softened. Add crushed garlic cloves and briefly stir through onion mix. Add the rice, ensuring all the grains are coated in the butter and oil and have started to become translucent. Pour about one cup of the stock over the rice mixture and turn to low heat. You don’t want the rice swimming in stock; you want it to gradually soak up the liquid.

Keep returning to the rice and adding more stock until it is almost cooked through. A good way to test is take a single grain and flatten it against a countertop with the back of a knife. It should break apart in a star if cooked properly.

While the rice is cooking, separate about half the roasted pumpkin. Start another pan on low heat, add some olive oil and cook a handful of pine nuts slowly for about 2 minutes or until toasted. Set aside.

When the rice is almost finished, throw in half the pumpkin and stir through, mashing it a little so it colours and flavours the rice. Add the toasted pine nuts, parsley, parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. For an extra bit of richness, stir through another 50 grams of butter or finish off with a dash of cream.

Serves two.