Little Pumpkin Spiders: Cotswolds-Style Halloween Risotto

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Toss the pumpkin cubes with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Spread the pumpkin on a baking tray.

Roast the pumpkin until tender and browned, about 25 minutes.

Bring the vegetable stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan.

Warm the remaining olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat.

Cook the onion until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the rice until each grain is glossy.

Pour in the wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add hot stock one ladle at a time, stirring often and waiting for each addition to be absorbed before adding the next.

Continue adding stock until the rice is creamy and just tender, about 18 to 20 minutes.

Mash half of the roasted pumpkin with a fork.

Stir the mashed pumpkin into the risotto.

Fold in the remaining roasted pumpkin.

Stir in the butter and Cotswold cheese.

Season the risotto with salt and black pepper.

Spoon the risotto onto four plates.

Pipe three thin concentric circles of crème fraîche onto each serving.

Drag a toothpick from the center of each circle out to the edge to form a web.

Use one olive per serving for each spider body.

Thinly slice the remaining olives into legs.

Arrange eight olive slices around each body to make a spider.