Marina di Chioggia Risotto + Herb Picking
For the second course of a private party at Earthbound Farm Stand, my team and I made a risotto with the Marina di Chioggia pumpkin. And the participants went into the herb garden with Janna Jo and picked herbs to be included and as a garnish.
When Janna Jo and I walked the patch and picked a Marina di Chioggia pumpkin for one of the dishes, I decided to prep it two ways and have different textures in this one dish. I used cubed (raw) pumpkin, and pumpkin purée made with this process. This is what I used to make about 16 servings; scale down as needed.
But first a little bit about the pumpkin I selected for this dish...
Marina di Chioggia
The heirloom pumpkin hails from Chioggia, a fishing village on the coast of Italy, south of Venice. However its origin lies in South America before it made its way to Spain, and then Italy. This is a deep blue-green, turban-shaped squash that has a rich, sweet, deeply hued flesh.
It became a staple for Venetians as it provided sustenance for the people of the lagoon during the Winter when they couldn't access meat. It filled the Winter food gap as Italians grilled it with olive oil and served it in large wedges. It has a meaty, sweet texture that also makes it useful for filling pastas or making gnocchi.
Herb Picking
As the event organizers wanted us to have some hands-on portions of the evernt, Janna Jo and I decided to have participants go into the herb garden and cut what they wanted to use in the risotto. Off they went while I worked with other folks to remove the pomegranate arils from the frui and start on whipping the cream for our dessert. This is what the herb-collectors ended up with...
A beautiful array of pineapple sage, lemon verbena, rosemary, savory, and more! It was so delicious and fragrant.
Ingredients
I organic onions, peeled and cubed (approximately 2 cups)
2 organic shallots, peeled and sliced
4 cups cubed pumpkin, raw
2 cups pumpkin purée
4 to 6 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cups Arborio rice or Carnaroli rice
16 cups liquid (I used a chicken stock, but you can use vegetable stock, white wine, or even water) plus more, if needed
4 Tablespoons fresh herbs, finely chopped
16 ounces mascarpone cream
2 teaspoons fennel pollen, optional
freshly ground pepper, to taste
freshly ground salt, to taste
Also needed: edible flowers and herbs for servingc
Procedure
Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Stir in the onions and shallots. Cook until they are translucent and beginning to caramelize. Stir in the rice and the fresh, cubed pumpkin. Toast for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the purée.
Then ladle by ladle, add in the stock until it's absorbed. 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. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and fennel pollen.
Stir in the mascarpone cream and fresh herbs. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Spoon risotto into individual serving bowls and top with edible flowers and herbs. Serve immediately.
That's a wrap on my second course: Marina di Chioggia Risotto. Stay tuned for the last course: dessert.
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