Whole Grain Pumpkin Risotto
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or grass fed butter
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 small/medium onion, minced
- 1 cup sweet brown rice, short grain brown rice, or farro
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups light vegetable broth or chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree from kabocha, sugar pie, red kuri or blue hubbard pumpkin (instructions below)
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup creamy unsweetened nut milk or whole milk from grass-fed cows
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black or white pepper (about 5 turns on a grinder)
- grated parmesan, to serve
- chopped cilantro, to serve
- For the pumpkin puree (can be made up to four days in advance):
- First prepare the pumpkin mixture. Cook pumpkin of choice by cutting in half and placing, cut side down, on an oiled parchment-lined sheet pan and baking at 400 degrees F. Cook until a fork pierces the skin easily, more or less 40 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Scoop flesh from pumpkin and puree in a food processor or push through a ricer or food mill. For this recipe you'll need about one cup of puree. Use remaining pumpkin for other purposes (Pinterest "pumpkin recipes" and you'll see that there is a lifetime of possibilities) or plan on doubling, tripling or quadrupling the recipe to make croquettes out of leftover risotto;).
- For the risotto:
- Heat oil or butter over medium heat in a medium pot. Add onion with the salt and sweat for about 5 minutes, until translucent. (Reduce heat if you start to see any browning.)
- Add rice or farro and bay leaf and toast in pot for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add 2 cups of broth, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove lid and add the remaining cup of water slowly, while stirring frequently. When rice is halfway cooked and the liquid absorbed, add pumpkin puree, lemon zest, nutmeg and water. Continue stirring another few minutes. The grains at this point should be tender, but chewy (a.ka.a. "al dente"). Turn off the heat and stir in the milk and a touch of lemon juice to finish.
- Serve immediately and top with parmesan and cilantro. A glass of dry white wine will go very nicely...just saying:).
extra virgin olive oil, salt, onion, sweet brown rice, bay leaf, vegetable broth, water, pumpkin puruee, lemon, ground nutmeg, milk, ground black, parmesan, cilantro
Taken from food52.com/recipes/62947-whole-grain-pumpkin-risotto (may not work)