Pumpkin Quinoa Risotto

Every month I want to try a new recipe. Right now it's once a week, lol. I came up with this one when I bought a pumpkin and didn't know what to do with it. This recipe is perfect for fall and delicious! So make sure to try it out now pumpkins are in season.

What you need:

• 2 big chicken legs
• 3 cups of quinoa
• 1/2 pumpkin, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• some fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp Mascarpone
• olive oil
• pumpkin seeds, grilled
• chicken seasoning mix
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved

What you do:

1. Season the chicken legs with the seasoning mix. Cook the chicken legs in a frying pan in olive oil, until the skin is brown, the chicken doesn't have to be done yet. 
2. Put the chicken in a pan with 500 ml of water and boil until the chicken is done.
3. When the chicken is done, get it out of the water (stock) and cook the quinoa in it (check the time to cook the quinoa on the package, I had to cook mine for 14 minutes).
4. Remove the skin from the chicken legs and 'pluck' the meat of the bones.
5. Take the dirty frying pan and add a little bit more olive oil, add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add the pumpkin cubes and cook until the cubes are nice and soft. 
6. When the pumpkin is soft, take half of the cubes and use a food processor to make a puree.
7. When the quinoa is done, you can throw away some of the chicken stock if it is too much for a risotto, then stir in the Parmesan (leave some for garnishing),  the pumpkin puree, cherry tomatoes and mascarpone.
8. Put the risotto on a plate and top it with the shredded chicken meat, pumpkin cubes, parmesan and pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!

I know, this sounds like a lot to do at the same time, it needs some planning. But it's worth it! When you prep everything, it saves a lot of time. You could grill the pumpkin seeds, cube the pumpkin the day before.
Some of the steps take some time, like waiting for the chicken to be done or cooking the quinoa, in that time you can do other stuff. When you're boiling the chicken you can cook the pumpkin cubes and when the quinoa is cooking, you can remove the chicken meat from it's bones.