Pumpkin Risotto

Sunday I was inspired to try Pumpkin Risotto by a piece in the New York Times written by the Life in Provence author Peter Mayle. I had all of the stuff and thought why not, his friend says it's delicious. I jotted down the instructions from the article and made my favorite risotto (by Sara Foster, naturally. If you've been around this blog you know I ADORE all of her recipes). So here it is adapted by moi.

*Sidenote: I'm not a photographer, food stylist or food blogger, I'm just a home cook who likes to share recipes from time to time. So the photos may leave a bit to be desired.

Here's what you need to get started:

1 small pumpkin (I grabbed one from the produce section that said “pie pumpkin”, it’s a good size)
1 Tbl Fresh marjoram or 1 tsp. dried
1 tsp dried oregano
2-3 Tbl Olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper

4 -5 Cups chicken broth
1 Tbl olive oil, or more as necessary
1 Tbl butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ¼ Cups Arborio rice
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
½ Cup dry white wine
1 Cup grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. To prepare pumpkin remove seeds and fiber and cut flesh into chunks leaving the skin attached.

With your hands mix chunks in a bowl with 2 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, marjoram and oregano. Lay the chunks skin side down put them in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes.

Remove them when the chunks of pumpkin are soft and the edges are tinged with brown, allow them to cool. When cool, scrape away the flesh from the skin and shred with a fork, set aside.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer (I usually just keep it in the microwave in a quart Pyrex pitcher and warm up as necessary).

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet and reduce to medium. When the butter is melted add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more, being careful not to let it brown. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes, until rice slides around easily in the pan and each grain of rice is coated with oil-butter. Add a splash more olive oil if the span seems too dry and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the white wine and cook until it evaporates. Stir in a ½ cup of the warm chicken broth and cook constantly until the rice absorbs all of the broth. When you hear the rice begin to sizzle in the pan, add another ½ cup of broth.

{my 5 year old assistant helped with the stirring, I thought he deserved a pic.}

Continue cooking the rice way, adding broth ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly and waiting for the sizzle before adding more. This should take 20 to 25 minutes, you may not need all of the 5 cups of broth.

When the rice is tender and creamy stir in the pumpkin until it’s warmed through about 4 minutes. Add a bit more broth until the risotto reaches the desired consistency. Stir in half (or a little more) of the parmesan and a tablespoon and a half of butter.

Taste for salt and pepper and sprinkle remaining cheese on top when serving. Serve immediately.

**I'll give you a little feedback, I LOVED this. I thought it was the perfect fall dinner, I served it with a green salad dressed with walnuts, blue cheese and vinaigrette. When I made it I knew my husband probably wouldn't be crazy about it because he's not a big fan of squash. He wasn't a fan. He said it was the texture of the pumpkin. The pumpkin was a bit stringy so maybe next time if I puree the pumpkin he'll like it better. I was perfectly happy with it the orginal way but if you have picky texture peeps you may want to try the puree route.