Harlequin squash spelt risotto with halloumi

I was happy to obtain some harlequin squashes again, and decided to make a spelt risotto with one of them. A spelt risotto is a wonderful weekday dish even though it takes slightly longer to make. I'm always so happy to have some of it left to take with me to work. This is a very filling and tasty dish and I can only recommend pearled spelt. However I just noticed how many spelt dishes I have posted again recently and should use some other main ingredients soon. I promise that it will be the case! First, here's today's recipe.

Ingredients

1 harlequin squash

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 bell pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

20 g butter

1 cup pearled spelt

1 glass white wine

1 l vegetable stock

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

40 g vegetarian pasta cheese

250 g halloumi + 1 tsp vegetable oil (optional)

Method

The method to this dish is my basic risotto method, nothing complicated about it, just some patience is needed.

Heat the vegetable stock in a separate pot.

Chop the harlequin squash into cubes. Also chop the onion, garlic and bell pepper.

Heat olive oil in a pan and start cooking the onion there for a few minutes. Then add the bell pepper and garlic and cook for further couple of minutes followed by the harlequin squash.

Add the butter and pearled spelt into the pan and mix for a few moments. Then add the wine and let it absorb.

Add a few ladles of the hot vegetable stock and let simmer under the lid. Stir often and keep making stock additions.

When all the components are cooked nicely and the flavours have blended, season the dish and add some grated vegetarian pasta cheese to it.

Serve with pan-fried halloumi slices like I did, if you feel like it. In that case no salt addition is needed to the risotto, or just a little bit.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog