Pumpkin orzotto with chicken

Chicken and pumpkin:

• 1 kg chicken leg pieces (about 10)
• grated zest and juice of half a lemon
• 2 + 2 tbsp olive oil
• a pot of sage
• 500 g deseeded pumpkin (I like to use either calabash or Hokkaido pumpkin in this dish)
• salt, pepper

Pumpkin orzotto:

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil +1 tbsp butter
• 200 g pearl barley
• 1 dl white wine
• 7 dl chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan-type cheese
• a handful of sage leaves +1 tbsp butter
• salt, black pepper

1. Mix the chicken pieces in a large bowl with the lemon zest and juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cut off half of the sage from the pot, remove the leaves from the stems and chop into smaller pieces. Add the sage to the chicken. Stir well to season the chicken pieces on all sides. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake at 210 degrees for 40–45 min.
2. You can put the pumpkin into the oven at the same time. Cut the pumpkin into sectors, you can leave the peel on. Transfer to a baking dish or tray. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle some salt. Bake at 210 degrees for 30 minutes until soft. Remove the peel and puree the pumpkin pulp. Use 2 dl of the pumpkin puree in the orzotto and you can use the rest elsewhere, in pumpkin soup or bread dough, for example.
3. To make the orzotto, chop the onion and garlic. Heat olive oil and butter in a thick-bottomed pot. Saute the onion and garlic in it over low heat until transparent. Rinse the groats in a sieve under running water. Add the groats to the pot and cook with the onion and garlic while stirring. Pour wine over the mix. Let it absorb into the groats.
4. Add the broth in gradually: pour the next splash on the groats once the previous one has absorbed, and stir thoroughly each time after adding the broth. Along with the last splash of broth, stir the pumpkin puree into the orzotto. The groats will be ready in about 30–40 minutes. Remove the orzotto from the heat. Stir in the cream cheese and Parmesan. Until now, everything was done without a lid, but put the lid on now and let the orzotto rest for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. To make crispy sage leaves, remove the leaves from the remaining sage stalks. Heat a bit of butter in a pan and fry the sage leaves in it for a couple of minutes until crispy. Use to garnish the dish when serving. If the chicken has cooled down already, heat it up and serve with the orzotto.