Baked rice with pumpkin and bacon is a tasty dish to prepare on Sundays as an alternative to lasagna.
It’s customary for me to prepare it on those Sundays when I find myself working and therefore not being home with my family for lunch, I make this dish so that they already have the meal ready, they just need to heat it before sitting at the table.
Baked rice with pumpkin and bacon is a rich dish that could be considered an all-in-one meal given the ingredients contained.
A fabulous recipe starring pumpkin that I adore! For this recipe, I always recommend butternut squash with firm flesh, bright color, and sweet taste.
Enriched with bacon and provolone, you’ll bring a delicious and stringy first course to the table that will have both kids and adults licking their lips!
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups of Carnaroli rice
- 1.3 lbs of butternut squash, peeled
- 7 oz of bacon, diced
- 5.3 oz of provolone cheese
- 1.75 oz of grated Grana Padano
- Half white onion
- to taste of salt
- to taste of white pepper
- to taste of chives
- to taste of extra virgin olive oil
Steps
Remove the skin from the pumpkin, and clean out the filaments and seeds, and cut it into small cubes.
In a pan, pour some extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped onion, let it soften over low heat, and then add the pumpkin cubes.
Season with salt and plenty of finely chopped fresh chives.
I recommend buying fresh chives and storing them in the freezer in strands, so you can have them available whenever you need.
Add a glass of warm water and cook for about 15 minutes, during cooking mash the pumpkin cubes to reduce them to a cream.
Halfway through cooking, add the diced bacon and finish cooking.
If it dries out, always add a little warm water.
Cook the rice for half the cooking time indicated on the package and then season it with the pumpkin and bacon.
Add the grated Grana Padano and mix.
Butter the baking dish and pour in half of the rice.
Stuff with the provolone slices and cover with the rest of the rice.
Before baking, sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and put it in the oven at 428°F (220°C) for 15/20 minutes.
Baked rice with pumpkin and bacon with its rich filling of aromas and flavors will earn you unprecedented success!
