A tasty way to load up on carbs
This risotto combines two excellent sources of complex carbohydrates, rice and pumpkin, to make a tasty carb-rich meal. It’s also full of veggies such as onion, garlic, asparagus and mushrooms to give the dish a rich flavour and your body a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. The shrimp rounds the nutritional profile with some protein.
When should you enjoy this risotto?
A high-carb meal such as this risotto is ideal 2-3 hours before a demanding training ride that requires high-intensity efforts. It contains only moderate amounts of fat and only little fibre, so it won’t slow your digestion too much. It’s made to gives you the energy to complete hard intervals or long threshold segments. Alternatively, you can use it as a recovery meal after completing a ride, especially if you’re planning to ride again the same day or if you have a hard session planned for the next day. It will top up your depleted glycogen reserves.
Check out the video recipe to see chef Wim Winkel at work. Plus, you can see that this risotto is approved by the taste buds of Niels Vandeputte, the winner of the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hulst and a rider for the Alpecin–Deceuninck Development Team.
The ingredients below will yield about 4 servings and each of these will have approximately 700 kcal, 32 g of protein, 100 g of carbs, 20g of fat, and 6 g of fibre.
Ingredients
300 g risotto rice (Carnaroli)
1 pcs pumpkin (Hokkaido)
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
750 ml vegetable broth
100 ml white wine, dry
60 g parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
50 g pumpkin seeds
250 g mixed mushrooms
12 pcs shrimps, peeled and cleaned
1 clove garlic, minced
Smoked paprika, a pinch
8 pcs, asparagus
Directions
1. To prepare the pumpkin, preheat the oven to 200°C. Cut the pumpkin into cubes, leave the skin on. Spread the pumpkin cubes on a baking paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, pepper and salt. Roast for 20 minutes, until soft. Most of the cubes will go into the risotto but keep a few aside for garnishing.
2. To prepare the mushrooms, clean them and cut into pieces. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms over high heat until golden brown for about 5 minutes. Season with some salt
3. To prepare the asparagus, cut off the short hard end of the asparagus, blanche the asparagus shortly in boiling water and cool quickly. Roast in a hot baking pan with olive oil and add some salt.
4. To prepare the shrimp, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Fry the shrimp together with garlic and pepper for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are pink and cooked through.
5. To prepare the risotto, heat a splash of olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Fry the onion and garlic over medium heat until they are glassy.
6. Add the risotto rice and fry it briefly until the grains shine. Extinguish with the white wine and stir well until the wine is absorbed and evaporated.
7. Then add moisture little by little. Stir regularly and always wait until the moisture is absorbed before adding more.
8. After about 20 minutes, when the rice is almost cooked, add the majority of the pumpkin cubes. Stir well and season with pepper, salt, and Parmesan cheese.
9. Roast the pumpkin seeds in a frying pan with some oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes and drain well, sprinkle with some salt.
10. Divide the risotto on plates. Garnish with the fried mushrooms, the remaining pumpkin cubes and fried prawns. Sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and serve.
