Dinner
Pumpkin Goat Cheese Risotto from the Pantry
Welcome to Pumpkin WEEK and the Virtual Pumpkin Party!! I’m so excited to be doing pumpkin week as it’s something
- 4 servings
- Prep 5 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 25 minutes
Welcome to Pumpkin WEEK and the Virtual Pumpkin Party!! I’m so excited to be doing pumpkin week as it’s something I’ve wanted to do for YEARS. I’ll be posting a new pumpkin recipe everyday for 6 straight days (which is a *little* ambitious even for me). These themed weeks are something that I would love to do a few times a year. I’m thinking a zucchini week in the summer, maybe a cookie week around the holidays? I have a LOT of ideas, guys. Get ready!
But right now, it’s ALL THINGS PUMPKIN!
Today also only so happens to be the Virtual Pumpkin Party where a bunch of standout bloggers have come together to share a bunch of standout pumpkin recipes. This is my FORTH YEAR participating in the Virtual Pumpkin Party which kind of seems crazy!
You can see year 1 here, year 2 here, and year 3 here.
You can also see a list of all the savory recipes HERE.
And a big thanks to Sara from Cake Over Steak for organizing the party each year!
For this year’s virtual pumpkin party, I’m making a SATISFYING and straightforward Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto. I have a soft spot in my heart for a good risotto dish and this particular risotto is NO exception!
It’s creamy, and cheesy, and filling, and SAVORY!! Besides the pie that is coming tomorrow, this Pumpkin Goat Cheese risotto might be Jemma’s go-to dish of pumpkin week.
How to Make Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto
Risotto is SO straightforward to throw together and I wish people made it at home more often!
We start by melting a little butter and sauteeing onion and shallot with some herbs. The rice goes in and, I know this might seem a little weird, it gets toasted in the pan a bit before adding any liquid. Then our WHITE WINE goes in.
Now, the key to a good risotto, is to slowly cook it while gradually adding in the broth. We’re going to add the broth, a little at a time, and not add anymore until the previous bit of broth is almost completely absorbed by the rice. This is continued until almost all of the broth is gone.
Once off of the heat, the goat cheese and pumpkin is stirred in and it’s ready to EAT!
What kind of rice for risotto?
To make risotto, you want a short grain rice. Short grain rices tend to have a higher level of starch which means that it absorbs less liquid than other rices. This results in a thicker and creamier rice dish (which is what makes risotto DEEPLY GOOD!).
I most often use arborio rice mostly because it’s the simplest short grain rice to find in my area. But other short grain rices such as Carnaroli will work as well!
See How to Make the Risotto here:
The recipe
Pumpkin Goat Cheese Risotto for the Table
- 4 servings
- Prep 5 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 cups of broth (chicken or vegetable broth will work)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- ½ of a sweet onion (finely chopped)
- 1 shallot (finely chopped)
- ½ teaspoon or dried stage
- ½ teaspoon of dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 ½ cups of risotto rice (most short grain rices will work, see note above about types)
- ⅔ cup of white wine (I genuinely like Vermouth in this method but other dry white wines work great)
- s&p to taste
- 4 ounces of goat cheese (divided)
- 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree (this is *almost* a full can. Do a taste test and then feel free to add the remaining bit of the can in there!)
Method
- 1
In a medium saucepan, heat the stock so that its simply warmed through and at a PARTICULARLY minimal simmer. Keep on the heat until needed.
- 2
In a large pot, heat the butter until only melted and then add in the onion, shallot, thyme, sage, and garlic powder and cook until the onion is only translucent which is about 8 minutes.
- 3
Turning up the heat a bit, add in the risotto rice and let cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently to let the rice get to the point that it’s almost frying and the rice becomes a bit translucent. About 2 minutes.
- 4
Add in the wine and stir to combine. Turn the heat back down to a gentle simmer.
- 5
Add in simply one ladle full of the stock and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and let simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat this until all of the stock has been added. Take off of the heat with a few tablespoons of liquid still in the pan (it will continue to absorb once off of the heat).
- 6
Stir in the pumpkin and ~2/3 of the goat cheese (the rest is for topping). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- 7
Garnish with remaining goat cheese, some thyme, and enjoy!
