Pumpkin Risotto

I’m baaaaack!  Pretty sure no one knew BS went on a hiatus but nonetheless, it did.  After a few posts, I soon realized I needed to force myself to get organized and actually plan meals.  I even went so far as to actually measure and record my ingredients on paper?! Sooo, unlike me, I know.  But in the time BS took a break, I missed the two most pivotal events in a girl’s life; the opening of football season and pumpkin season! With that being said all recipes this week will include pumpkin capped off by a UT-inspired dish on Friday.

First up, pumpkin risotto! I made this risotto more laborious than it had to be but I was too cheap to buy canned pumpkin over the cheaper, fresher, real pumpkin.  But you definitely can substitute fresh pumpkin for the can.

Ingredients

1 small sugar pie pumpkin
1 cup arborio rice
½ medium onion
1 garlic clove
2 strips bacon
2 tbs butter
½ cups grated parmesan
1 cup dry white wine
6 + cups chicken broth
3-4 sage leaves
a dash or two of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Roasting the pumpkin

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut a small sugar pie pumpkin in half and place the halves, face down, into a shallow cookie sheet with about an inch of water.  Roast pumpkin for 30-40 minutes.  Once soft and tender, scoop the pulp into a bowl and let stand.

For the Risotto

1.  Chop bacon into small strips and fry in a medium sized saucepan.  While the bacon is frying, put chicken broth into a small saucepan to bring to a rolling simmer.
2.  Once bacon is crisp, place bacon aside and drain some (only SOME) of the grease.  Add a little less than a tablespoon of butter.
3.  Saute onion in butter until fragrant.  Once onion is translucent add garlic clove, salt and pepper.
4.  Now add the rice and toast for a few minutes. (3-4 minutes)
5.  Next, add the wine.  Once the rice absorbs the wine, add about 3 cups of the hot broth.  Let the rice cook, covered, for about 7-10 minutes.  Make sure to keep your eye on the dish as the liquid may evaporate quicker than expected.
6.  Once the rice absorbs this first round of broth, add the remaining 3 cups of broth along with 1 cup of the pumpkin puree.  Let cook for another 5-7 minutes.
7.  Once you’ve incorporated the pumpkin.  Add 3 leaves of chopped sage and 1 tablespoon of butter into the dish.
8.  Once butter is melted add the parmesan.  Throughout this process, taste the rice to make sure it’s al dente or a little bit soft.
9.  Let this cook about another 5 minutes. Once done place into a bowl while you fry some of that sage in the remaining bacon grease. Add the sage to the bowl and enjoy!