Prep: 10min
Cooking: 18 - 20min depending on the rice
Serves: 2
Difficulty: easy
Here one of my mum’s favourite dishes to cook for the family. I can still see myself coming back from school and smelling the pumpkin from the stairs. It’s very hearty and perfect for this cold weather.
Mamma Flora’s Tip: Use Carnaroli rice for making risotto, its grains are higher in starch content resulting in a creamy consistency and a firmer texture.
Don’t be afraid of the stirring, feel the rice and take care of it. Stirring is essential, it knocks the grains of rice together, which lose the starch making the texture silkier.
Ingredients:
For the risotto
- 250g pumpkin
- 190g carnaroli rice
- 50g butter (to use before and after)
- 2 spring onions
- parmesan
- salt
For the broth
- 1l water
- 1/2 onion
- 1 celery stem
- 1 carrot
Tools:
- 2 pots
- a ladle
- a wooden spoon
Method:
Broth
-
Let’s prepare the broth by filling a small pot with water and add the peeled carrot, celery and ½ onion. Boil it for at least 10-15min before starting the risotto, add salt per taste, continue to boil at low heat while cooking the risotto. We will use the broth to cook the rice
Risotto:
- In the meantime cut the pumpkin in thin slices and then in small pieces
- Cut the spring onions in small pieces and place it in a pot with half the butter at very low heat, stir it often and make sure they don’t become brown (2-3min)
- Add the pumpkin pieces and stir, leave it cook until they become soft (5min)
- Add the rice, toast it for 3-4 min, stir it often so it doesn’t stick to the pot
- As soon as the rice becomes dryer, add the first ladle of broth, don’t forget to stir. The rice will slowly absorb it
- Every time you see that the rice is getting dry, add a ladle of broth. Continue almost until the end of the cooking. If you need to top up some water in the broth, make sure it is warm, you can use the kettle
- Taste the rice after 15min of cooking, you want it to be al dente but not raw and remember the rice continues cooking after you turned the heat off. (It usually takes 18-20 min but check the suggested cooking time on the package)
- Finish the cooking and place the pot far from the heat. Add some grated parmesan and the rest of butter and stir it. Add some rosemary per decoration
- Let it rest for 2-3min before serving, enjoy this hearty risotto
