Pumpkin risotto: half roasted, half melted into the rice
The pumpkin goes in twice and does something different each time. Half of it, cubed and roasted, stays in pieces with caramelised edges and finishes on top. The other half cooks with the rice, collapses, and colours the whole pan orange. At the end, cold butter and parmesan beaten in off the heat, no cream.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Pumpkin roasting 20 min
- Rice and stock 25 min
- Butter and parmesan 5 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneCut the pumpkin and split it in two
Heat the oven to 200 °C. Wash the pumpkin, halve it, scoop out the seeds and cut into 1 cm cubes with the skin on: Hokkaido skin softens completely and needs no peeling. Divide the cubes into two equal lots of about 250 g.
Ingredients: 500 g Hokkaido (red kuri) pumpkin · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp dried sage · ½ tsp salt
TipOther squashes (butternut, giant pumpkin) are better peeled, because their skin stays tougher. Hokkaido is the most common one that lets the peeler stay in the drawer.
1 cm cubes, skin on, split in halfRoast half of it
Toss half the cubes with the oil, salt and sage, spread them in a single layer on a lined tray and roast 20 minutes at 200 °C, until the edges caramelise. Set aside; this is the topping.
TipA single layer with space between the cubes is the condition for caramelising. Packed tightly they steam in their own moisture and come out soft but pale and flavourless.
One layer, twenty minutes, dark edgesSoften the onion and toast the rice
Keep the stock hot on the next burner: cold stock stops the rice cooking and makes everything take longer. In a wide pan, in the olive oil and butter, soften the finely diced onion 4 minutes. Add the rice and stir 2 minutes, until the grains are glossy and translucent at the edges. Don't rinse the rice: the surface starch is the basis of a risotto's creaminess.
Ingredients: 320 g risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli) · 1 pcs onion · 2 tbsp olive oil · 20 g butter · 1200 ml vegetable stock · ½ pcs lemon, juice
Onion translucent, rice glossy at the edgesAdd the raw pumpkin and the stock
Pour in the lemon juice and stir until it evaporates. Add the second, raw half of the pumpkin and the first ladle of hot stock. Stir until the rice absorbs it, then keep adding ladles for 18–20 minutes. The rice should always be barely covered, never swimming. The raw pumpkin collapses over this time and colours everything.
TipStirring rubs starch off the grains and builds the cream, while adding stock a ladle at a time lets you land the texture. Taste towards the end: tender grain with a slight bite in the centre, the whole loose and flowing off the spoon.
A ladle, stir, absorbed, the nextButter and parmesan off the heat
Take the pan off the heat. Add the cold cubed butter and the parmesan and beat vigorously for half a minute, until the risotto turns glossy. Season with pepper and salt. It should be looser than you think: it firms up on the plate within a minute.
Ingredients: 40 g butter · 60 g parmesan · ½ tsp black pepper · ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley
TipCold butter beaten in off the heat emulsifies with the stock and starch into a smooth cream. Added over the heat it splits easily, and the risotto turns greasy instead of creamy.
Off the heat, vigorously, glossyServe with the roasted pumpkin
Spoon onto shallow plates and tap each plate on the counter so the risotto spreads. Top with the roasted pumpkin, parsley and parmesan. Eat immediately: risotto doesn't wait. Shape leftovers into patties the next day and fry them in butter.
Spread out, roasted pumpkin and parmesan on top
Before you start
With gorgonzola
60 g blue cheese in place of half the parmesan, beaten in off the heat with the butter. Pumpkin and blue cheese is a classic, reliable pairing.
With toasted seeds
3 spoons of pumpkin seeds toasted in a dry pan over the top: the crunch a risotto has no way of producing on its own.
Risotto gluey like porridge
Too little stock, or cooked too long. The grain should resist in the centre and the whole should flow off the spoon; switch off a minute earlier than feels right.
