Pumpkin Risotto Recipe

The first time I tasted risotto was actually in Japan!  Funny, huh? I’ve been obsessed ever since.  I LOVE a good Risotto, but making them scared me.  But the truth is Risotto isn’t hard, it’s just time consuming and you need to be a little flexible.

So before you attempt any recipe that has lots of steps be sure to 1. read the entire recipe and 2. collect all the ingredients.  Since you’ll be stirring pretty much constantly the whole time you won’t be able to leave to collect ingredients you might be missing,  having them all measured out before hand will be a huge help for you as you work. For Risotto you also need to make sure you have the right rice, traditional rice won’t cook up the same and won’t work, my favorite risotto rice is Arborio rice.

Risotto is made by cooking the rice in stock (I like to use Swansons chicken stock, but you can use any stock flavor) to a creamy consistency. You’ll use more of less depending on your altitude and cooking time so I always have extra in case I need to use more than I expect. Risotto’s start with a onions cooked in butter or olive oil, then toasting the rice to heat it up, then adding wine and cooking it until it’s all absorbed. Now comes adding the stock. You want the stock warm while you add it, just a little at a time and cooking it down, stirring to keep the rice all evenly heated.

Stirring not only evenly heats the rice but more importantly it loosens the starch from the outside of the rice grains into the liquid, creating Risotto’s smooth creamy-texture. At that point it is taken off the heat for a rest, then diced cold butter is vigorously stirred in to make the texture as creamy and smooth as possible.

You want to serve RIGHT away, as the rice continues to cook and it could quickly go too soft. This is not a dish you can make ahead of time and it doesn’t reheat well. Your finished risotto should be loose, and not mushy.  The Rice should be slightly al dente so the individual grains are still there.

So Risotto isn’t hard but it does take time and patience and testing while you cook, The first time you try it I would do it by itself to see how long it takes in your kitchen. The end result is SO worth it, creamy and filling and oh so good! You can mix in pretty much anything and add any flavors, as long as you have the basic’s down. Try it with different Stocks and different veggies (you can add longer cooking vegetables with the onions, but softer vegetables like peas or asparagus that cook quickly add towards the end)

So do you have a love affair with Risotto like I do? What is the best risotto you’ve ever had? Personally my favorite is always a Parmesan Risotto, but it’s fun to experiment with different flavors like this pumpkin one! My husband loved it, the kids not so much. I enjoyed it as a side, but by itself it wasn’t quite enough for me.