Risotto – Meal or No Meal – A Bonus Recipe
October 9, 2008 at 8:30 am 2 comments
Pumpkin Risotto
We have a fundamental disagreement, more like a like verses dislike situation. I like rice; rice with Chinese food, red beans and rice, rice pudding. My wife on the other hand tolerates rice. If I make a dish that needs something under it, something to soak up the juices, and I am tired of pasta, I go the rice route, My wife will eat the dish but there is always a little pile of rice left on her plate; maybe her mother was scared by Chinese take-out when she was pregnant with her.
So that brings us to Risotto. The Italian’s make Risotto as a meal unto itself. They not only honor it but they relish the making of it as much as they enjoy the eating of it. For those believers it only takes about 20 minutes start to finish; if you are a non-believer you are looking at a long time-consuming process that is hardly worth the effort… same 20 minutes just a mindset adjustment. So Saturday I was thinking a nice plate of steaming Risotto, I had some pumpkin I wanted to use up and a container of Arborio rice ( the only kind you should use for Risotto ). I thought this would be a nice surprise lunch honoring the cooler weather,. My wife had other ideas, “What kind of soup do we have in the freezer?” I said I was thinking Pumpkin Risotto, she said that was not a meal, it was a side. I had the Risotto, she had the soup. So it is up to you as an individual… Risotto- Meal or No Meal?
Pumpkin Risotto
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Vegetarian Entrée |
| Meal: | Company Comfort (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 1 | lb | pumpkin, fresh |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | cup | onions, chopped |
| 6 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 2.25 | cup | rice, Arborio |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 5 | cup | vegatable broth |
| 0.5 | cup | cheese, romano, grated |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, romano |
| 1 | Tb | parsley, flat leaf |
Cut, seed and peel pumpkin, cut into ¾ inch dice. Heat olive oil in a pot with 2/3rds of the butter. Add onions and pumpkin, sweat over medium heat until softened. Add rice to pot, stirring until rice is translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat; add broth ½ cups at a time, stirring constantly. Add remaining butter and grated Romano cheese.
Spoon risotto onto plates, shave remaining Romano cheese with a vegetable peeler over risotto and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
(You can find this recipe and others like it at emealsforyou.com)
Entry filed under: Dinners. Tags: arborio rice, pumpkin, pumpkin risotto, rice, Risotto.
1.
Sarah | October 10, 2008 at 2:04 am
Love your blog. Thanks for writing it. I love anything pumpkin. What are your thoughts on using fresh vs. canned pumpkin?
2.
emealsforyou | October 10, 2008 at 9:09 am
Hi Sarah,
Glad you like the blog. Although we prefer using fresh ingredients whenever possible using canned pumpkin in this Risotto recipe works just fine. Be sure to use 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie mix or blend as it will not turn out right. You may also substitute any other squash you wish in this recipe.
The reason we use Arborio rice is that when cooked slowly it releases its starch; forming a creamy sauce for the dish.