Peel the butternut squash using a peeler (save the peels and seeds) and dice it into small pieces. Peel and chop the onion and garlic finely, saving the peels as well.
Add the peels and seeds to a pot, along with 2 liters of water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until reduced to half. Strain and leave to simmer on the lowest heat while cooking risotto.
Alternatively, you can use skip the above step and use chicken stock instead. Put it on simmer in a pot on lowest heat.
Heat olive oil in a deep pan/ pot on medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add pumpkin, stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add rice, salt and pepper and give a good mix.
Add about 1/2 cup of stock and stir until all the liquid evaporates.
Repeat by adding 1/2 cup of stock at a time and letting it completely evaporate before adding more liquid.
Repeat the above step until all the stock has been used up and the rice is tender. This will take somewhere between 20- 30 minutes.
After adding the last batch of stock, add the butter and parmesan. Risotto should be creamy and sticky. If too dry add some water to loosen it up. Mix it just until combined and take off heat.
Serve warm.
