Jarrahdale Pumpkin Risotto

This is the dish I made for the main dish at my Winter Squash Demo and Tasting at Earthbound Farm last weekend.

When Janna Jo and I walked the patch and picked a Jarrahdale pumpkin for one of the dishes, I decided to prep it three ways and have all the different textures in this one dish. I used cubed (raw) pumpkin, cubed roasted pumpkin, and pumpkin purée made with this process. This is what I used to make about 16 servings; scale down as needed.

Ingredients

• I organic onions, peeled and cubed (approximately 2 cups)

• 1 cup diced carrots

• 1 cup diced celery

• 4 cups cubed pumpkin, raw

• 2 cups cubed pumpkin, roasted

• 2 cups pumpkin purée

• 4 to 6 Tablespoons olive oil (I used the Smoked Olive Oil from The Quail & Olive)

• 4 cups Arborio rice or Carnaroli rice

• 12 cups liquid (I used a vegetable stock, but you can use chicken stock, white wine, or even water)

• 4 Tablespoons fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used a mixture from the Earthbound garden)

• 8 ounces mascarpone cream

• freshly ground pepper, to taste

• freshly ground salt, to taste

• Also needed: edible flowers and herbs for serving

Procedure

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Stir in the onions, celery, carrots, and raw pumpkin. Cook until onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize. Stir in the rice and toast for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the purée. Then ladle by ladle, add in the stock until it's absorbed. After about 5 minutes, add in the roasted pumpkin. Keep stirring. Repeat the process with the stock until the rice is cooked. If you need more liquid, just add more; if you don't use all of the stock, that's okay, too.

Stir in the mascarpone cream and fresh herbs. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon risotto into individual serving bowls and top with edible flowers and herbs. Serve immediately.