Pumpkin, Sage, Chestnut And Bacon Risotto
- Total Time
- 1 hour 50 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1small sweet cooking pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, about 2½ pounds
- Olive oil
- 1tablespoon coriander seeds
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 12slices bacon or pancetta
- 2ounces shelled chestnuts (vacuum packed are fine)
- 15fresh sage leaves
- 4cups chicken stock or canned broth
- 3shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 5small stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1cup arborio rice
- ½cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
- 4tablespoons butter
- ¾cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- About 1 cup mascarpone, optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
855 calories; 58 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 1122 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Halve pumpkin lengthwise, and remove seeds; rinse seeds, drain, and reserve. Cut pumpkin lengthwise into thick slices, and spread in a layer across a large baking sheet. (If using squash, cut into quarters.) Sprinkle pumpkin with olive oil, and set aside. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the coriander seeds until crushed. Sprinkle over pumpkin along with salt and pepper, and bake until soft, about 40 minutes.
- Step 2
Remove pumpkin from oven (leave oven on), and spread bacon over it. In a small bowl, combine reserved seeds, chestnuts, sage and salt and pepper to taste. Add tablespoon olive oil, and mix well. Sprinkle over pumpkin and bacon. Place back in oven until bacon is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Remove pumpkin from oven. Scrape bacon, chestnuts, sage and pumpkin seeds onto a small plate; reserve. Finely chop about half the pumpkin. Chop other half so that it is slightly chunky; reserve.
- Step 4
Place chicken stock in a small pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to very low to keep warm. Place a large saucepan over medium heat, and add tablespoon olive oil, shallots, celery and a pinch of salt. Stir, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, and add rice. Stir constantly until rice is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in wine until it is absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 5
Begin adding broth to rice, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly. Allow each ladleful to be absorbed before adding next; process will take about 20 minutes. When ready, rice will be soft with a slight bite. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Step 6
Remove rice from heat. Add chopped pumpkin, and stir vigorously until mixed; fold in pumpkin chunks. Mix in butter and Parmesan. Place a lid over the saucepan, and let sit for 2 minutes. To serve, place a portion on each of 6 serving plates. Top each portion with crumbled bacon, and sprinkle with mixture of chestnuts, sage and pumpkin seeds. Add a dash more cheese. Garnish each plate with a dollop of mascarpone if desired, and serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
This was a disappointment, just … meh. I love pumpkin and chestnuts and sage and risotto, but somehow this just did not come together. Way not worth the effort, though I followed the recipe exactly.
Way too much celery in here, also poorly written recipe. Seems to take 2x as long as it should cos the recipe actually tells to you to cook the pumpkin BEFORE the risotto. Do it both at the same time and save yourself an hour. Tired of seeing these needlessly elaborate recipes.
Roasted pumpkin has a much more succulent flavor profile than does simmered or boiled. Principle with risotto same as with a really good pumpkin soup.... roast then use in risotto.
Use shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds) rather than seeds scooped from the squash, as the hulls can be hard to chew. Raw pumpkin seeds should be cooked with the bacon. If you have roasted pepitas, add just before serving.
Chop the chestnuts.
Cook the bacon/chestnut mixture alone, the bacon will crisp up more quickly. Also, the pumpkin was done after 40 minutes, a second trip to the oven yielded mushy flesh that disintegrated when stirred into the risotto (my pumpkin slices were 3/4 inch thick).