Creamy Roast Pumpkin and Sage Risotto
Creamy roast pumpkin risotto with sage is the coziest, dreamiest bowl of fall flavors. Gluten-free, vegetarian recipe, or jazz it up with chicken and/or bacon.
Servings: 6
Calories: 228kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced small
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves
- 1 ½ cups (270 grams) arborio rice
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 5 cups 1(180 ml) good vegetable or chicken broth, divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ? teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (454 grams) roasted pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup (60 grams) grated parmesan cheese
To garnish (optional)
- Balsamic glaze
- Roasted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large frying pan.
- Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes
- Add the sage and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice, stir to coat with the butter, and cook for a minute or two, until becoming translucent.
- Pour in the wine. Cook, stirring frequently, for a minute or two until mostly absorbed.
- Stir in about a cup and a half of the broth, along with the nutmeg, cayenne, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently but not constantly, until broth is mostly absorbed. Continue in this manner, adding more broth as it absorbs into the rice, until you've used all but ½ cup of the broth.
- While the risotto simmers, combine the pumpkin, maple syrup, cream, and remaining ½ cup broth in a blender or food processor. Process until completely smooth.
- Add pumpkin puree to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the broth is absorbed. Risotto is finished cooking when each grain of rice is tender but still has a nice hint of chewy bite, and there's still some delicious starchy broth remaining. Keep in mind that the broth will thicken as it cools.
- Stir in parmesan.
- Rest the risotto for five minutes before serving.
- Spoon into wide, shallow bowls and garnish with balsamic glaze and roasted pumpkin seeds if you like.
Notes
- I prefer the taste of fresh roasted pumpkin in this recipe, but it's also delicious with canned pumpkin if that's all you've got. Use one 15.5-ounce can of plain pumpkin puree, with no further changes to the recipe.
- Risotto's combination of firm-tender rice and creamy broth will be at its best shortly after cooking. I don't recommend making it in advance. If you need to, you can parcook it in advance, proceeding though step 6 below but stopping with a couple of cups of broth still to add. Finish right before serving.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about a week. They'll taste great but thicken up a bit, which is fine. You can reheat in the microwave. Pumpkin risotto leftovers also make great arancini with fresh goat cheese or mozzarella in the middle.
Variation: Chicken and pumpkin risotto
This recipe makes a satisfying vegetarian main dish all on its own, or a side dish along with some protein. Or you can easily turn it into chicken and pumpkin risotto by stirring in about 1 ½ pounds of cooked, shredded or diced chicken at the very end of cooking. Here are our favorite ways to cook chicken:- Simply roasted
- Sous vide
- Instant Pot
- Or buy a good-quality rotisserie chicken at the grocery store
Variation: Pumpkin bacon risotto
Another fabulous variation is to add 8 ounces of bacon — either alone or in combination with the chicken. You've got two options here:- Chop the bacon and, before step one, place it in the cold pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until as crisp as you like. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Pour off all but two tablespoons of the fat and return pan to heat. Continue with recipe as written, cooking onion in bacon fat and omitting the butter.
- Or cook the bacon separately, in a skillet or in the oven, then chop or crumble.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 561mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g