I have very little time to blog these days. That's why it's been almost a year since my last post. Since no one actually reads it, I do it mostly for me. So, I guess it doesn't matter how often. Anyway, it's now October 2013 and as a federal employee, I find myself furloughed. Suddenly have all this time to fill. It's day three and I've already been experimenting with lots of recipes. As I've noted before, I LOVE the fall. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a couple of pie pumpkins so that I could roast and use them in my fall recipes. On day two of the government shutdown, I got down to business and roasted the pumpkin and for dinner my husband and I enjoyed this delicious pumpkin risotto. I did not come up with this recipe on my own. I adapted this Butternut Squash Risotto recipe from Skinnytaste.com. I didn't have any butternut squash, but I really wanted to try this risotto. Since I had all that pumpkin, I used that instead. My husband hates sage, so I decided to go with something I know works well with pumpkin...nutmeg. It worked perfectly...if I do say so myself. I also found that there wasn't quite enough liquid, so I added some water and more wine.
Pumpkin Risotto
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree (You can use canned, but I used roasted pumpkin)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 large shallots
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
In a blender (I used my Ninja which is amazing), combine broth, water and pumpkin. Blend for10 seconds or so, until mixed thoroughly. It will look like a very thin pumpkin soup. Transfer to a pot and heat through. Keep warm. In a large pot (I used a dutch oven), heat olive oil on medium heat and add garlic and shallots. Saute about 2 minutes. Add arborio rice and mix thoroughly, making sure the rice is coated with oil. Stirring almost constantly so the rice doesn't burn, saute for another 2 minutes or so. Keep the burner on medium to medium high heat. Add the wine and stir constantly until the liquid is well absorbed. Add ground nutmeg. Ladle in the pumpkin/broth mixture, making sure all the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladle. Continue doing this until all of the liquid is gone. Add the cheese and mix thoroughly.
The result should be a creamy, pumpkiny and delicious risotto. Serve immediately.
