Pumpkin Risotto with Sage

By James Bacon

It’s Pumpkin season and there are so many ways to cook it, in this recipe I’m going to be balancing out the sweetness with Pecorino and Parmigiana cheese and elevating it with one of pumpkins best friends, sage. Yes, its rich and creamy Pumpkin Risotto time!

Kitchen Tools Needed: 

• Hoxton Silver Plated Salt & Pepper Mill Set
• Ashden Acacia Mezzaluna Hachoir Herb & Chopping Board
• Large and medium saucepan
• Air Fryer (Optional) 
• Blender

Prep: 30 min

Cook: 30-40 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

• 1kg of pumpkin (peeled and cut in to 1/2 inch cubes)
• 1 onion (finely diced)
• 2 cloves of garlic (grated)
• 400g of arborio rice
• 1.5L of stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 200ml of white wine
• 100g of grated Italian hard cheese plus more for garnish (I used 50/50 pecorino Romano and parmigiana) you can just use parmigiana
• 2 tsp of fresh chopped sage plus more for garnish
• 4tbs olive oil
• 60g of unsalted butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method: 

1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Toss the chopped pumpkin in 1tbs of the olive oil and give it a few good few turns of salt in a large mixing bowl and pour on to a baking sheet in one layer and roast until caramelised around the edges - around 30 mins (or pour in to an air fryer and roast at 180 for 15- 20 mins until edges are caramelised)
2. While the pumpkin is roasting, in a medium saucepan bring the stock to the boil and keep on a low simmer, add 20g of butter and 1tbs of olive oil to a large pan on a low to medium heat, once the butter has melted add the diced onions and cook slowly and gently so they sweat and soften without any colour (around 7-10mins) then add the grated garlic and cook for a further 2 mins. Stir in the Arborio rice so that it is completely coated in the oil mixture and cook until it turns slightly translucent around the edges. Add the wine and wait until completely absorbed by the rice, then one ladle at a time, add the hot stock and gently stir until absorbed by the rice, do this with 3/4 of the stock and the rice is al dente then remove from the heat.
3. Take the pumpkin from the oven or air fryer, divide in to two halves, place one half in the blender with a ladle of stock and 20g of butter and blend until you get a smooth puree texture, add this to the warm risotto along with the cheese, chopped sage another ladle of stock and the extra 20g of butter and mix thoroughly (this will release more starch and emulsify the fat with the stock to create the most amazingly rich and creamy texture)
4. Now divide the other half of the pumpkin quarters and gently fold one quarter into the risotto, serve in shallow bowls and garnish with the last quarter of pumpkin, Italian cheese shavings, chopped sage and a drizzle of olive oil.

Enjoy!

 

Tips: 

Save the best looking pumpkin to use as garnish, and always keep a little stock just in case there’s leftover risotto and you can hydrate so it doesn’t become a big lump of rice pudding