Rabbit and Chorizo Risotto

No actual rabbit bits in this recipe, but the stock from Christmas eve’s feast provides enough of the flavour to make this risotto a bit different:

Ingredients:
(once again, this is a zen operation – adapt depending on how many you’re cooking for)

Rabbit stock (if you don’t have much you can top it up with white wine, or water)
Risotto rice – I used carnaroli this time
A small onion, or shallot, chopped
Chorizo sausage, chopped into half slices (semi-dry is fine, or fresh if you can get it)
A pinch of cayenne pepper – if using a mild chorizo, otherwise you can leave this out
A bit of courgette, finely sliced.
A bit of butternut squash chopped up into small cubes.
A healthy chunk of butter
Grated parmesan cheese

Heat the butter and start frying the onion and the chorizo. Once the onion has softened and the chorizo is imparting a bit of colour to the butter, throw in the rice and let it coat in the butter. Add the squash and spices and stir a few times.

Add the stock in a bit at a time with a ladle, stirring gently and allowing the rice to soak up the liquid before adding more stock. Keep doing this until the rice is fat and tender. About halfway through, throw in the courgettes and stir. At the end, add the parmesan, and stir it in until it is melted and creamy.

I had a pleasant surprise with this risotto, as the squash disintegrated slightly and became part of the stock, giving a creamy texture and a sweet flavour which was very more-ish in the same way as a good rice pudding. With this in mind, I enjoyed eating this out of a bowl with a spoon…