Pair pumpkin and rosemary risotto with the bubbles of a Franciacorta brut or an Alta Langa; but if you prefer a still white wine, choose a dry, full-bodied one like a Greco di Tufo.
Pumpkin and rosemary risotto
For this risotto we prefer a sauté with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, for more contrast with the sweetness of the pumpkin.
Chef Danilo Angè
Difficulty: easy
Method: 20
Cooking: 85
Chef Danilo Angè
Difficulty: easy
Method: 20
Cooking: 85
Method
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01 / Prepare the pumpkin
Wash the pumpkin and cut into wedges
Wrap the wedges in foil
Bake in the oven at 170°C for about 1 hour
Take the pumpkin out of the oven and remove the foil
Remove the skin and seeds from the pumpkin
Blend the pulp; if too hard, add a little vegetable stock
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02 / Prepare the sauté for the risotto
Finely chop the onion
Clean the rosemary and finely chop the needles
Put the onion and rosemary in a saucepan with extra virgin olive oil over moderate heat
Cook for about 5 minutes until the onion wilts, it should not brown
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03 / Toast the rice
Add the rice to the fried mixture
Turn the rice for a couple of minutes until toasted without changing colour – it should be very hot when touched with the back of the hand
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04 / Cook the risotto
Add the white wine and let it evaporate
Add the boiling broth, the rice must always be covered with liquid
Add the pumpkin purée halfway through cooking
Cook, stirring occasionally, adding a little stock at a time when necessary
Remove from the heat after about 18 minutes
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05 / Blend the risotto
Add the Parmesan cheese and cold butter
Hold the handle of the saucepan and move it vigorously back and forth to mix the ingredients
Add salt and pepper to taste
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06 / Serving
Arrange the risotto on serving plates
Wine pairing
Risotto should be prepared and served there and then, but you can prepare the stock in advance.
Another very useful tip is to replace the fried onion or shallot with a flavoured oil you can prepare in advance and use for other recipes too. Chop the onion/shallot, put it in a saucepan and cover it completely with extra virgin olive oil. Cook it on a low flame or in the microwave until the onion/shallot is transparent. Leave to infuse and cool, filter, and put the flavoured oil covered in the fridge.
The onion must not brown in the frying pan
Remove the rosemary needles before chopping using the woody stem would give an unpleasantly bitter flavour to the sauté.
The rice must not change colour during the toasting process to seal the rice grain and allow it to release the right amount of starch when needed.
From mid-cooking onwards, the stock should only be added as necessary, as it is absorbed, so as not to end up with a risotto with too much broth.
The “mantecatura”, the blending operation, must be done with the heat off, with cold butter and Parmesan cheese for the creaminess of the risotto.
Do not choose a watery and not very tasty pumpkin; ask your local greengrocer for advice.
If you have leftover mushroom risotto, you can store it in the fridge up to a couple of days. You can then reuse it, like with the risotto alla milanese, by sautéing it.
The most suitable rice qualities for a creamy risotto are Carnaroli, Roma, Arborio and Vialone Nano.
For this risotto we prefer a sauté with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, for more contrast with the sweetness of the pumpkin.
Several qualities of pumpkin are available on the market, like Delica, Mantovana and Butternut; choose one that is sweet, dense, and floury: ask your local greengrocer to give you one with these characteristics.
In Italy it is said that a successful risotto must be “all’onda“: this means that it must be thick and creamy enough to allow creating a wave in the saucepan with a sharp blow with your wrist during the “mantecatura”, the blending phase.
Ingredients for 4 people
320 g carnaroli rice
60 g of onions
10 g of extra virgin olive oil
60 ml white wine
1 lt di vegetable stock
40 g butter
80 g grated Parmesan cheese
1 bunch of rosemary
Salt and pepper
For the pumpkin
400 g of pumpkin (non-cleaned)
Wine pairing
Pair pumpkin and rosemary risotto with the bubbles of a Franciacorta brut or an Alta Langa; but if you prefer a still white wine, choose a dry, full-bodied one like a Greco di Tufo.
