Recipe of the Week ~ Pumpkin Risotto

As I've mentioned in numerous posts, I am totally smitten with autumn... the chill in the air, the rustle of leaves, the smell of a fire and of course all the fabulous food!

Every week I pick out a few new items (and some old favorites) at our local farmers market. If you are in the area you should definitely check out the Del Ray Farmer's Market, it's not as big as some of the other ones but they have fantastic produce, meats, cheeses and the best scones around! Even Mamere (who has high standards for her tea and scones) loves them!

I was hard pressed to pick between two recipes this week because they both really stand out in my mind as fantastic fall dishes but critically important decisions like this have to be made (insert a wink and a smile) so you'll have to wait till next week for my favorite collard greens recipe. How's that for a teaser?

This week is all about the pumpkin. I found some perfectly sized little 2 -3 lbs gourds at one of the booths and scooped up the prettiest one I could find. On a quick side note a few weeks ago there was a great piece in the Washington Post (click here to read) about finding small fruits and vegetables vs. the mammoth ones that seem to be everywhere these days. Realistically who needs a 5 lbs butternut squash?? A 2 lbs one is perfect for DH and I and we still have enough left over to give some to our son the next day.

Back to the pumpkin...I first tried out this recipe on DH a week or two ago and after some tweaking served it at a thank you dinner for some of our very best friends last Saturday. They'd invited us down for a long weekend in the Outerbanks of North Carolina with their family in August. It was our son's first trip to the beach and he loved it! I was more than a bit surprised when he just ran into the surf but he just laughed and laughed as the water came back and splashed him. I have a feeling we'll be back next summer!

Did I get off topic again? Bad Ouiser, bad Ousier...

I've made a few changes to the original recipe which you can find at FoodNetwork.com. And the suggested wine sauce is a nice addition so don't skip it! Although as I found out a bottle of Amarone can be quite expensive ($40+) so instead I used a tempranillo the first time and a pinot noir the second. Of course I forgot to serve the sauce to our friends on Saturday. It wasn't until the next morning I saw my lovely sauce sitting in the fridge all congealed. So sad, but maybe next time!

I hope you'll consider trying this recipe and I do hope you'll explore your local farmer's market as well. Be adventurous, pick out something you've never cooked with and I assure you it'll be a fun adventure, even if the final product doesn't turn out so great. And be sure to tell me all about it! I'd LOVE to hear about your new finds!!

Pumpkin Risotto with Amarone Sauce
Serves 4-6, as a main dish

2 TBS Olive Oil
1 Small onion, finely chopped
1 1-2 lbs Pumpkin, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
2 Bay leaves
4 C Vegetable stock
1 1/2 C Arborio rice
1/4 C Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for table
1 TBS Butter
Sea Salt & freshly ground pepper

Pumpkin Puree:
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add onions. Gently fry until soft and translucent. Add the pumpkin, bay leaves and 1 cup of stock (a little more may be needed). Bring to a simmer and cover, let steam for 15-20 mins. Set aside half of the pumpkin mixture. Puree the remaining half and then set aside.

Risotto:
In a large pan heat olive oil and add the rice. Add 1 cup of stock and stir. Continue adding stock as the rice absorbs it and continue to stir until it is a creamy consistency. It's okay if the rice is a little al dente. Stir in the pumpkin puree and gently fold in the pumpkin mixture. Finally, add the Parmesan cheese and butter and stir well. Season with sea salt and pepper. Once the risotto is plated, drizzle some of the Amarone sauce over the risotto immediately before serving. Serve with extra sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Amarone Sauce
1/2 Cup Amarone wine (or other good red wine)
Kosher salt
1 TBS sugar
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 TBS Flour, all purpose
2 TBS Water

Heat wine, pinch of salt, sugar, bay leaf and cinnamon over medium heat in a small pan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. In a separate bowl mix flour and water. Gradually add the flour/water mix to the pan until the sauce has the desired consistency. (you may not need to use all of the flour/water mix)Remove bay leaf before serving.

Happy Cooking!

Cheers,
Ouiser