Pumpkin Risotto
Although you’ll find risotto often listed on the menu of fancy restaurants, it is the essence of simple Italian home style cooking. It is a comfort food that bears roots from the cucina povera or peasant cooking, but its simplicity conquers even the most refined palates around the world.
While you’ll find countless variations of risotto, one of the most popular is the Risotto alla Zucca or pumpkin risotto. It is a traditional dish from Northern Italy and it’s particularly popular in the region of Lombardy thanks to the prestigious qualities of pumpkins grown around the beautiful town of Mantova.
Bring the vegetable broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
Pour the extra virgin olive oil in a medium pot, add the chopped shallot and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Pour in the rice and toast for 1 minute stirring frequently. Add the white wine and cook until evaporated, stirring frequently so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
When the wine has evaporated, add the pumpkin cubes and 1 to 2 ladles of vegetable broth to barely cover the rice and pumpkin. As soon as the rice mixture begins to dry out, add another ladle of broth and stir occasionally. Keep adding more broth, a ladle at a time, when the rice dries out while stirring occasionally in between to make sure that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. At the 12 minute mark taste the risotto. It should be al dente or firm to the bite, but not hard nor mushy. If needed continue cooking until the 18 minute mark checking every minute to see if its done beforehand.
When the rice is finished, remove from heat and stir in the butter and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Serve immediately otherwise it will lose it’s creamy, silky texture. Buon appetito!
*If you don’t have white wine on hand, you can simply use a ladle of vegetable broth. The white wine gives more depth of flavor.
