Risotto Filled Pumpkins

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F

Cut the bottom of each squash slightly so that it stands flat. Cut off the top, scoop out the seeds and then scrape out the flesh, leaving the outside roughly 0.5 cm / 1/4th-inch thick. Finely diced the scraped out flesh. Put the hollowed-out squash in the oven to warm until the risotto is ready.

Bring the vegetable stock to the boil then turn down the heat.

In a separate pan, melt 1.5 Tablespoons butter and fry the shallot and garlic for 1-2 minutes until translucent. Add the rice and the diced squash, fry together briefly and deglaze with half of the wine. Leave this to evaporate thoroughly, then repeat the process with the remaining wine.

Next add enough stock for the rice and squash to be completely covered. Add the bay leaf and lemon peel. Stir occasionally, allowing the stock to be almost completely absorbed by the rice, then add more stock. Continue in this way until the stock is used up and the rice retains a slight bite. (This will take around 20 minutes. )