Last Updated on March 19, 2024 by Share My Kitchen
This Italian traditional pumpkin risotto recipe is something you must make in the fall and especially in the cold season.
Pumpkin risotto is the ultimate comfort food for warming up because of its creamy texture and delicate, slightly sweet flavor.
The flesh of the pumpkin makes risotto creamier, and it adds a sweet and delicate flavor to it. This makes it the perfect dish for cold winter nights when you want to curl up under a blanket and eat while watching TV.
What Is This Traditional Pumpkin Risotto?
- It’s a creamy risotto that melts in your mouth.
- A dish made with a simple vegetable broth, which gives it an amazing flavor.
- In less than 30 minutes, you can make your own risotto from scratch.
- It’s healthy AND delicious.
- Pumpkin risotto, although it is not meaty, is very filling and satisfying.
- This is a wonderful lunch or dinner option for two, but it’s also great for large family gatherings.
- This is a great way to use pumpkin.
Ingredients for Traditional Pumpkin Risotto
You can make the best pumpkin risotto when you choose the right ingredients.
Risotto Rice
Carnaroli or Arborio are the best rice choices for risotto. Arborio is more difficult to find while Carnaroli makes it easier to cook with.
What kind of pumpkin is best to make risotto from?
Although people in many countries tend to differentiate squash from pumpkin, the Italian word “zucca” refers to both. Risotto is therefore possible with many more options than you might think.
Delica Pumpkins
People often choose Delica pumpkins in Italy. Although it has Japanese roots, this variety is cultivated locally in Emilia Romagna, Veneto, and Lombardy. In Italy, it is the most widely cultivated variety.
These Delica pumpkins have green-greyish skin, and sweet, dense, orange flesh. The high sugar content makes it ideal for risotto as it gives an intense buttery flavor.
Mantua Pumpkins
Another popular variety is the Mantua Pumpkin, which is used in many recipes, including pumpkin risotto. It is traditionally cultivated in Mantua. Its sweet flesh, which is hard and dry, can be used to make risotto and stuffings.
Butternut Squash
Lastly, butternut squash, which is very popular in Anglo-Saxon countries. It is also known as Violina in Italy. It has a long shape, and when you cut it, it looks almost like a violin case.
It is great when you make pumpkin risotto since it has a creamy texture. It’s also used in soups, cream soups, and minestrone.
However, don’t worry, you can use any variety of butternut squash or pumpkin you have. You can consider these: red kuri, kabocha, buttercup squash, and many more.
Vegetable Stock
A good, tasty vegetable stock is easy to make. It is another key ingredient to a great pumpkin risotto. You will only need a potato, half an onion, a rosemary sprig, and a bay leaf. Then, for any risotto, you will need white wine, butter, half-onion or shallot, Parmesan cheese, and extra virgin olive oil.
How To Make Traditional Pumpkin Risotto
Prepare Vegetable Stock
First, set aside half of the onion and a rosemary sprig. You’ll need them later for risotto.
Add 6 cups of cold water, a peeled carrot and potato, half of the onion, rosemary springs, and 1 to 2 bay leaves into a large pot. Then, bring to a boil and allow to simmer over low heat.
Prepare the Pumpkin
Prepare the pumpkin in the meantime. Cut the pumpkin and remove the seeds and inner strands. Then, slice into wedges and take off the skin using a sharp knife. After that, cut the pumpkin flash into small cubes.
Make Risotto
Add a generous drizzle of olive oil (approximately 1/4 cup) and finely chopped onion into a large skillet.
Sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat. Next, add pumpkin cubes and rosemary sprigs into the pan.
Roast the pumpkin for 6 to 7 minutes.
Add a little vegetable broth to the pot if it starts to become too dry.
This is when the pumpkin will begin to soften, but still retain some bite.
Then, add rice with the pumpkin, and mix well until everything is coated in olive oil and pumpkin.
It will turn translucent in a minute or so. This is a sign that it has been well toasted.
You can now add white wine and let it evaporate.
This is what the Italians refer to as “sfumare.”
Reduce the heat and add 2 ladles of vegetable broth, which will now be ready to use. Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to stir the mixture.
Important Note: Keep the vegetable stock simmering over very low heat while you prepare the rice.
Add another ladle or two of broth to the rice once it has absorbed the majority of the liquid.
Continue stirring the rice and adding more stock until it is cooked. Don’t forget to just add a ladle or two.
It normally takes anywhere from 15-20 minutes to complete, depending on what variety of rice is used.
After the rice has been cooked, turn off the heat.
Mix in butter, and give it a good stir.
Add the Parmesan cheese. Toss or stir once more, then let the risotto sit for 2-5 minutes before you serve it.
Allow your risotto to rest for 5 minutes. This will allow it to enhance its creamy texture.
Serve as soon as possible with a bit more Parmesan cheese to taste.
How To Use Leftover Risotto
You can make a variety of dishes with leftover risotto.
Pumpkin risotto is famous for its delicate flavor, so you can use it to make Sicilian Arancini or rice croquettes. Or you can bake them in an oven with ham and cheese.
Traditional Pumpkin Risotto Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice (310g)
- 1 onion (½ onion for stock + ½ onion for risotto)
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 carrot
- 1 potato
- 2 rosemary sprigs ( 1 for stock, 1 for risotto)
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 6 cups water
- half a stick of butter (50 g)
- 3 cups pumpkin cut in small cubes (450 g)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan (50 g)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Prepare Vegetable Stock
- First, set aside half of the onion and a rosemary sprig. You’ll need them later for risotto.
- Add 6 cups of cold water, a peeled carrot and potato, half of the onion, rosemary springs, and 1 to 2 bay leaves into a large pot.
- Then, bring to a boil and allow to simmer over low heat.
Prepare The Pumpkin
- Prepare the pumpkin in the meantime. Cut the pumpkin and remove the seeds and inner strands. Then, slice into wedges and take off the skin using a sharp knife.
- After that, cut the pumpkin flash into small cubes.
Make Risotto
- Add a generous drizzle of olive oil (approximately 1/4 cup) and finely chopped onion into a large skillet. Sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Next, add pumpkin cubes and rosemary sprigs into the pan.
- Roast the pumpkin for 6-7 minutes.
- Add a little vegetable broth to the pot if it starts to become too dry.
- This is when the pumpkin will begin to soften, but still retain some bite.
- Then, add rice with the pumpkin, and mix well until everything is coated in olive oil and pumpkin. It will turn translucent in a minute or so. This is a sign that it has been well toasted.
- You can now add white wine and let it evaporate.
- Reduce the heat and add 2 ladles of vegetable broth, which will now be ready to use. Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to stir the mixture.
- Add another ladle or two of broth to the rice once it has absorbed the majority of the liquid.
- Continue stirring the rice and adding more stock until it is cooked. Don’t forget to just add a ladle or two. It normally takes anywhere from 15-20 minutes to complete, depending on what variety of rice is used.
- After the rice has been cooked, turn off the heat.
- Mix in butter, and give it a good stir.
- Add the Parmesan cheese. Toss or stir once more, then let the risotto sit for 2-5 minutes before you serve it.
- Serve as soon as possible with a bit more Parmesan cheese to taste.
Recipe Notes
Keep vegetable stock simmering over very low heat while you cook the rice.
