Pumpkin Risotto

5 from 18 votes

Risotto takes a bit of time because the more the risotto cooks and is stirred, the better the flavor, and the more creamy the starches from the Arborio rice. This recipe is not difficult at all and you may substitute butternut squash if you can't find pie pumpkins or Japanese green Kabocha squash.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Meatless Main Dish, Side Dish

Keyword: holiday food, pumpkin, Side dishes, vegetarian,

Servings: people

Calories: 425kcal

Author: Sally Humeniuk

Equipment

Large saucepan or dutch oven
Medium saucepan
Ladle
Cheese grater
Medium skillet

Ingredients

For the Fried sage leaves and pumpkin seeds for topping, if using:

1 tbsp butter
16 fresh sage leaves, more or less, depending on how many you want
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, pepitas

For the pumpkin risotto:

6 cups Chicken broth, you might not use it all
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, minced, about ½ cup total
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup white wine, see notes for best wine substitutions
½ pound fresh pumpkin, seeds and fibers removed, peeled and grated (about 1 cup). See notes for types of squash you can use if pie pumpkin is not available. Do not use Jack O'Lantern pumpkin.
2 tbsp salted butter
2 tsp sea salt, more or less to taste
½ tsp ground black pepper, freshly ground
1 cup Parmesan, grated, plus more for serving

Instructions

Make the fried sage leaves and pan roasted pumpkin seeds:

Melt 1 Tablespoon butter over medium-low heat in a medium skillet. Add 16 sage leaves and fry for a couple of minutes until crisp, turning with tongs or a fork as needed to crisp both sides. The leaves will darken quite a bit but don't let the butter smoke or the leaves turn black. Once all the leaves are crisp, remove them to a paper towel to cool. Set aside to use when serving the risotto.
Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to the pan and increase the heat to medium. Add ¼ cup pumpkin seeds and stir to cover with oil. Continue to cook until the seeds plump up and darken a bit. (These are great to snack on so I always double or triple the seeds and olive oil for this step and save extras to snack or sprinkle on salads.) Transfer the seeds to a separate paper towel and sprinkle liberally with salt. Let cool to use when serving the risotto.

Make the risotto:

Heat 6 cups chicken broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Keep very warm while making the risotto.
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add ½ cup (more or less) of shallots and cook for about one minute until the shallots have softened. Add 1 cup Arborio rice to the pan and stir until covered with the olive oil that was already in the pan and the rice is a little shiny. Cook the rice and shallots for about two minutes, stirring occasionally until the rice becomes a little translucent. Add ½ cup white wine and ½ pound grated pumpkin. Cook, stirring continually, until most of the wine has evaporated.
Turn the burner up to medium-high heat and ladle about 1 cup chicken broth. The broth should bubble and will start to evaporate. Stir occasionally, almost constantly. Continue ladling the broth, stirring, and cooking until only about 1 ½ cups broth is left in the saucepan where you heated it. This will take about 20 minutes. Taste the rice to make sure it's al dente but not hard. If needed, continue to cook the risotto a few more minutes to achieve the softness desired, adding ½ cup more chicken broth if needed.
If the pumpkin hasn't absorbed into the rice so you barely see chunks of the pumpkin, give the risotto/pumpkin mixture one vigorous stir until the pumpkin is as dissolved as you'd like.
Add 2 Tablespoons butter and 2 teaspoons salt to the risotto and stir it in. Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese and stir until melted and stringy/creamy.
The Pumpkin Risotto should be very loose and creamy. If desired, add more chicken broth until the risotto reaches the level you want.

Serving the Pumpkin Risotto:

Serve the Pumpkin Risotto immediately, topping each serving with 3 or 4 sage leaves (you can leave them whole or crumble them over the risotto). Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, and roasted pumpkin seeds, as desired. Add more fresh ground pepper, as well.

Notes

If you can't find baking pumpkins, called pie pumpkins, you can substitute butternut squash in the recipe. The butternut doesn't break down as much as the pumpkin but will still taste fabulous. You can also use a green Japanese Kabocha squash that is available all year round in some stores. If the Kabocha is available, that would be my first choice for pumpkin substitution. Jack O'Lantern pumpkins are not a good substitution as they're very fibrous.
Arborio is the best rice to use in most risottos. Carnaroli is professed to be the king of risotto rice. I've used both and don't notice a difference, so buy what's available and budget-friendly. You can use short grain brown rice (any short grain rice is acceptable), the brown rice might take longer to soften and will impart a more nutty flavor to the recipe, and that's not a bad thing!
If you don't want to use wine in the risotto you can substitute half water and half white wine vinegar or half water and half apple cider vinegar, so 1/4 cup of each.

Nutrition