Thursday, October 7, 2010

Creamy Pumpkin Risotto


I was working on testing holiday recipes for Indulge magazine a few days ago and found myself with some leftover pumpkin puree. In the spirit of Fall and those beautiful shades of red and orange outside, I made pumpkin risotto. Risotto is always a great comfort dish. I love how creamy the rice gets after being stirred and infused with flavourful stock. Risotto sometimes gets a bad rep as a dish that is time-consuming and difficult. The fact is, it's not really either of those. You do have to be not too far from the stove for 20 minutes or so while it's cooking, but it comes together quite quickly and the prep time is pretty minimal. It's an incredibly versatile dish too, perfect to serve as a vegetarian option for Thanksgiving (if you use vegetable stock of course!).

I just love the color the pumpkin gives to any dish it's in. The flavor in the risotto is just perfect and adds that perfect touch to creamy rice. To all my Canadian readers, I want to wish you all a great Thanksgiving! Here is a link to some of my Thanksgiving side dish recipes if you're still thinking about what to serve!

Creamy Pumpkin Risotto
Serves 4
1 1/2 cup of arborio rice
4 cups of chicken stock
3 shallots, diced finely
1 teaspoon of dried sage
1 glass of good quality white wine
A large handful of cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup mascarpone (optional, to use to top the risotto)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan, and extra for serving

In a pot, bring the stock to a boil, reduce to a low simmer.
In a saucepan, add a good drizzle of olive oil on medium low heat. Add the shallots, and the dried sage. Once the shallots have softened (about 2 minutes), add the rice and mix, stirring until the rice looks lightly toasted. Add the wine and gently stir. Once the wine has almost evaporated, add the stock one ladle at a time. Keep adding stock once it has almost evaporated in the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper (the stock will reduce and is salty so make sure not to add too much salt while you're cooking the risotto).

In the meantime, heat some olive oil on medium high heat in a separate pan. Add the sliced mushrooms. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Set aside.

Keep a constant eye on the rice, adding stock as it gets incorporated into the rice. The risotto should gently simmer for about 16-17 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, add the mushrooms and pumpkin puree. Gently mix them, making sure the pumpkin puree is well stirred through. Fold in the Parmesan.Serve immediately, adding a spoonful of mascarpone and a little more Parmesan. Enjoy!

28 comments:

Torviewtoronto said...

colorful delicious risotto

Trissa said...

Pumpkin risotto is such a great holiday dish - the colour just gets me everytime. Your version is beautiful.

Jamie said...

Heavenly! I love making risotto and make it quite often but never pumpkin! When we lived in Italy I fell in love with savory-sweet pumpkin ravioli, risotto, etc but at home pumpkin goes for pies and soup. This is a fabulous recipe I need to try!

gfs said...

I often roast cubed pumpkin and add it to my risottos for that beautiful pumpkin flavour (and because canned pumpkin puree isn't available in Australia!) with some chicken or just peas and mushrooms. I've just finished making dinner, otherwise I would' made this! yum!

Unplanned Cooking said...

How wonderful. I can almost smell it.

Natalie said...

YUM! I love that you can use canned pumpkin in this--I have a hard time finding cooking pumpkins!

kimberleyblue said...

Believe it or not, I've never made risotto, though I've always wanted to. This might be the one I'll make first - everything about it sounds just amazing and comforting and perfect. I love pumpkin-anything!

M. said...

great fall flavors...and such a comforting dish :)

Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...

I have just moved to America and am been overwhelmed by the amount of pumpkin recipes and products I have come across. I think this is my favourite!

Anonymous said...

This risotto recipe looks amazing!

Joudie's Mood Food said...

Risotto is one of my favourtie winter dishes. This looks wonderful. I maed such a delicious sweet potato and butternut squash risotto with thyme and fried garlic... Yumm. This looks wonderful too.

Meg Luby said...

risotto is a weakness of mine, as is pumpkins. i feel like this recipe might just be my kryptonite. but i am helpless to resist, this recipe is going to be made ASAP!

thank you for posting, i love LOVE your blog
-m
http://clutzycooking.blogspot.com/

Chocolate Shavings said...

Meaghan Frubalee: Let me know how it turns out! Risotto is a wonderful weakness to have, especially at this time of year!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. Risotto is one of my new favorite things to make once I realized it's really not that difficult to make! A little bit of elbow grease goes quite a long way. This sounds absolutely delicious!

A Canadian Foodie said...

What a fantastic and timely recipe for fall! I cannot wait to try this.
Thank you!
:)
Valerie

Janae Monir said...

I just got the hang of risotto and have been looking for new ideas to try. Pumpkin is a great idea with the fall season (even if it's still hot outside where I live); I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!

Simones Kitchen said...

I never really understood why everyone is making such a fuz about risotto... I love it!! But I have never made a pumpkin risotto and just think it looks totally delicious!

Anonymous said...

This is such a great dish for fall season and the holidays! Look delicious.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite autumn meals!!

Paul
www.PaulByronDowns.com

polwig.com said...

I often make pumpkin and sage recipes but never added mushrooms...how yummy and mascarpone ...

Von said...

I've never had or cooked risotto before =S But this looks really good!! I agree- the colour of this is really beautiful!!

Anonymous said...

My mind just turns to pumpkin this time of year and this gets the best idea award to the night! Yum!

Joie de vivre said...

This looks right up my alley. Gorgeous pictures.

Katie said...

I love both pumpkin and risotto. Combining the two sounds heavenly!

Lauren said...

This pumpkin risotto looks delicious! I've always been a huge pumpkin fan, but lately I have been challenging myself to use it in savory recipes.

Muneeba said...

oooo yummmm, made a similar recipe recently, but will be adding mushrooms and mascarpone next time - thks to you!

Sara said...

I made this two nights ago and it was absolutely delicious. I got so many complements. Thanks for the recipe! I will definitely be keeping this one!

Chocolate Shavings said...

Sara: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Risotto is always a great comfort food in our household, and with the pumpkin puree, it's so perfect to serve during the Fall months.

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