Oct 19

Oct 19 Rough & Ready Risotto

I have two classes this session, which makes finding time for blogging difficult. But… I thought why not a super quick blog post to reflect the (truthfully not-so-quick) dinner? It all came together very fast, the pumpkin peeling as the time bandit in this case.

Risotto is a great, easy dinner and so highly adaptive to whatever is in your fridge or pantry. There are really just 3 essential ingredients: arborio rice, butter or oil and liquid (usually broth). Things start getting complicated when you add the stuff (in this case pumpkin, caramelized onion and sage.

So here’s what I did:

First, I added a bit of olive oil and a knob of butter to a big frying pan. I love the flavor combination of the two and why choose?

To that I sliced up all the onions in the fridge, a shit ton! and set it on low on a back burner. While I fuss over all the other stuff these suckers will shrink down to a brown, gooey mass of deliciousness.

Then I prepared the pumpkin. I sliced it, scooped out the seeds (and saved them and roasted them and they tasted just like my childhood :) and used a vegetable peeler to take off the outer skin. After I cut it into bite-sized pieces and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper, I roasted it on some parchment paper at 375° until tender and the corners were browned up.

So now the onions are cooking, the pumpkin is roasting, now it’s time to make the risotto!

In a large sauce pan (you need it to be wide because evaporation is essential for risotto), add a few tablespoons of olive oil. When that has warmed up, add a few cloves of minced garlic, and I added a minced shallot as well because I had one and I live them. Sauté until soft, but not brown.

Then, and this part is important for flavor… you add the risotto. A cup of arborio rice is usually enough for two people, and I’m going to add a lot of pumpkin later, so one cup is plenty As you sauté the rice, and toss it around so it browns evenly, you’ll notice it becomes a bit translucent after a few minutes.

When it does, you can start adding the broth. I usually use a good quality chicken broth like Imagine or Pacific brand. The broth should be warmed up, or if you’re a bit lazy like me, then room temperature is good enough. You add about a cup at a time, enough to almost submerge the rice in the pan, and stir. It should bubble a bit — you don’t want he liquid to evaporate too quickly, you want the rice to absorb most of it. When the liquid is almost gone in the pan, you add another cup. And then another. This process is repeated several times until the rice is tender. Test the rice after you’ve added a few batches of broth, the rice should be about half done, still a bit raw in the middle. If you have some open, add some dry white wine, about a cup or so as the next liquid. Continue to stir the risotto, not constantly but very often.

When you feel it is almost done, like you only have one or two cups of broth to add, add the roasted pumpkin. And add the onions which now look like this:

If you are adding any fresh herbs, now is the time to do it. I used the last of the fresh sage (a frost was expected last night!) and adjust with salt and pepper. Do you need to add more broth? Now is the time to do it. The final risotto should be a bit saucy. At the very end I threw in a handful of grated parmesan and some chopped, toasted walnuts.

And here’s the final product:

Ya, it’s a lot of standing around and active time but it’s delicious and I had all the ingredients at home, so no trips to the grocery store. Risotto is such a homey, nourishing dish and doesn’t have to be a calorie-bomb to be flavorful. It reheats well too! Perfection!