Baked Pumpkin Risotto

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Baked Pumpkin Risotto

Author: Marco Costiglio

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp / 50 g unsalted butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cups Tidewater Grain Carolina Gold White Rice *see Note 1
• 1 onion, diced
• 20 oz pumpkin (weight after peeling and deseeding), diced into cubes (about 4 cups) *see Note 2
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (or water or broth)
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth
• 2 tbsp sage leaves, roughly chopped *see Note 3
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• salt & pepper to taste
• grated parmesan for garnish
• Optional: 3 tbsp salted butter and 12 - 20 sage leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in ovenproof pot (preferably with a lid) over medium high heat.
3. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent.
4. Add chopped sage and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add uncooked/unboiled rice and stir until all the rice grains are coated with the butter and semi translucent.
6. Add pumpkin and broth, stir. Let the liquid heat up but do not bring to boil.
7. Put lid on (or cover tightly with foil) and place in oven for 25 minutes, until rice is just cooked but firm (add 5 minute increments to cooking time to suit your tenderness preference)
8. Add remaining butter (2tbls) and parmesan cheese (½ cup)
9. Stir quickly until the pumpkin turns into a puree and blends into the risotto. If it's too thick, add a splash of hot water. You should have a porridge like consistency so it sags a bit when served.
10. Spoon into serving bowls. Garnish with (optional) crispy sage, 1 or 2 teaspoons of brown butter and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Crispy Sage:

1. Melt butter in a small pan over medium high heat. Once foaming, add sage leaves and stir gently.
2. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until crispy.
3. Immediately remove sage onto paper towel lined plate and pour butter into a heat proof container (butter should be brown by now).

Notes:

1. Why the rice type matters - Risotto needs to be made with “risotto rice” (Which Carolina Gold is perfect for) because it’s extra starchy and this is what makes risotto beautifully creamy without the use of cream.
2. Pumpkin - Use any fresh pumpkin (any type but not type on your neighbors porch) OR butternut squash. Fresh over canned in terms of flavor. However, this can be made with canned pumpkin- use 1.5 cans (even 1 can is enough), and stir it in when it comes out of the oven.
3. Sage goes very well with pumpkin, but it is a minimal addition to flavor in this dish so don't worry if you don't have it. If you have parsley, thyme or oregano, these will be a good substitute. The crispy sage adds great texture and a "woah" factor if you’re feeling fancy.

General:

1. Salt - It is important to remember to season at the very end and not at the beginning as you never really know how strong the salt from the stock/broth is once absorbed into the rice.
2. Leftover Brown Butter - It's unlikely you'll use it all. But you can't use less otherwise it's too hard to crisp the sage leaves (I tried). Drizzle leftovers on almost anything, pasta, omelettes, soups etc. Just a drizzle adds an extra element of awesomeness to anything!
3. Servings: Even though there is only 1 1/2 cups of rice, this makes a lot (because of the 3 cups of pumpkin). It will feed 4 hungry Tidewater Grain employees or 6 normal people.
4. Baking time - if you are using a heavy cast iron casserole pot with a lid, then the cook time should be 25 minutes because it retains heat so well. If you are using a lighter weight pot covered with foil, then it might take closer to 35 to 40 minutes.