
Autumn is the perfect time of year for this simple yet delicious recipe, as the main ingredients are in season here. Having said that, those same ingredients are available year round in any supermarket so there’s never a bad time!
Mushroom “hunting” is a popular tradition in Catalunya once the first few showers of autumnal rain have given the hills a good dousing. And yes, it’s hunting! The locals don’t call it picking, gathering or foraging for mushrooms, they call it hunting – even though the poor mushrooms can’t exactly run away and their only hope is to have picked just the right spot to camouflage themselves from the expert hunters!
Pumpkins, so closely associated with Hallowe’en and also with Thanksgiving in North America, are in season in the fall too – which kind of makes sense really! Pumpkin pie in particular is a deliciously traditional dessert after Thanksgiving dinner, but in this recipe we’re going savoury.
The list of ingredients is pretty short so we recommend going for the best quality available. The measurements are approximate.
Ingredients
- 400g of rice
- Chicken stock (volume will depend on the rice you use – check the packet)
- 300g of peeled, seeded and diced pumpkin
- 1 medium-sized onion – diced
- A couple of cloves of garlic, minced
- 150g of (freshly picked) mushrooms
- 50 g of bacon strips or lardons
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
- Boil the rice in the chicken stock (as per the instructions on the rice packet)
- Drain and set aside
- In a large pan, fry the bacon in olive oil until coloured, and set aside
- In the same oil fry the diced onion
- Once the onion becomes transparent, add the diced pumpkin
- Once the pumpkin is soft, set aside
- Fry the mushrooms in olive oil in a separate smaller pan
- When the mushrooms are almost done, add the minced garlic
- In the large pan, add the reserved rice and heat, while gradually adding all the other ingredients
- Stir the mixture together and at the end add the mushrooms to the mix
- Serve while still warm.
Mmmm… yummy!
Check out our other recipes for Mediterranean dishes to try at home.