The temperature is getting colder so my food contributor, Elle Woods has been kind enough to share her Pumpkin, sage and mascarpone risotto recipe ~based of Jamie Oliver’s ‘Squash, sage and amaretti risotto’ from Cook with Jamie. Something warm and indulgent to feed the comfort food craving.. take it away, Elle!
Risotto is likely my Dad’s favourite meal I cook, but he always insists we have the same flavours. Last Wednesday, in a scramble to prepare something for dinner, I noticed two pumpkins in the upstairs fridge and decided I’d put together a risotto based off Jamie Oliver’s. It’s probably one of my favourite risotto’s I’ve ever made and pumpkins are so cheap right now it’s a quick and easy meal. Sure it’s nowhere near the healthiest recipe, with the mascarpone and butter but winter always calls for warm indulgences.
You can take the basic risotto recipe and add any flavours to it, such as pea and bacon, mushrooms, tomato, basil and ricotta there are endless options!
Ingredients:
Basic risotto
500ml of chicken stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 sticks of celery, finely sliced
400g risotto rice (arborio)
125ml of dry white wine
1. In a large pot, heat oil and butter, whilst butter is melting put your stock on the heat and keep it at simmer point. Add onion and celery to pot, and cook until soft, about 15 minutes.
2. Add the rice, let the rice sizzle for a bit around 5 minutes, add wine and stir til evaporated.
3. Add the stock to the rice one ladle at a time, stirring always and waiting til it has been absorbed. Do this on a low heat,so the rice doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pot.
4. Continue to add stock ladle by ladle til the rice is cooked, around 15 minutes- so it is al dente and not too soft and sticky.
Squash, sage and mascarpone base.
½ cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons dried red chilli
sea salt and ground black pepper
1 medium green pumpkin, deseeded and cut into quarters
500ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon of marscarpone
50g butter
a handful of grated parmesan
olive oil
sage leaves
1.Preheat oven to 200ºC. In a pestle and mortar grind cinnamon and dried chilli flakes with salt and pepper til it is a coarse powder. Rub powder and olive oil over pumpkin quarters. Place pumpkin in an ovenproof dish and roast for 45 mins til soft and caramelized.
2. While your pumpkin is cooking make basic risotto recipe, above.
3. Put 500ml’s of stock in your basic risotto stock pot and bring to the simmer. Scoop cooked pumpkin out of skin and coarsely break into pieces and add to stock.
4. Slowly add rest stock and pumpkin mixture to basic risotto recipe ladle by ladle, you might not need all of the stock. If this happens drain extra stock and stir in leftover pumpkin.
5. Turn off heat, add in mascarpone, butter and parmesan and fold in loosely. Fry your sage leaves in olive oil til crisp and fragrant.
6. Serve with crisp sage leaves, extra parmesan and a generous amount of black pepper.
