Get ready for a hearty and creamy experience. With this dish we wanted to highlight the flavour of the two main ingredients: the risotto rice, and the pumpkin.
This aromatic and simple risotto is "mantecato" in a flavourful pumpkin purée and is one of our favourite recipes from the Northern Italian cuisine.
The risotto takes just 30 mins to cook (15 if you can multitask), it's adaptable to all seasons of the year, and its beautiful yellow colour makes for a really seductive dish. Let's cook!
INGREDIENTS
- 400 grams pumpkin cleaned
- 250 grams risotto rice arborio
- 2 tbsp vegetable bouillon
- 2 L water
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- salt, pepper
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the vegetable broth
- In a large pot, prepare the vegetable broth by adding the vegetable bouillon, the fresh thyme, and the bay leaf to the water. Bring to boil, and keep to a high temperature throughout the cooking of the risotto.
Make the balsamic vinegar glaze
- In a small pot, add the balsamic vinegar and let reduce on low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Set aside and let cool down. At this point the balsamic vinegar should have thickened and should be pourable with a spoon.
Make the pumpkin purée
- Peel, seed, and cut the pumpkin into small dice. Then cook it in a pan with one glass of vegetable stock until soft.
- With a hand blender, turn the pumpkin into a smooth purée. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Cook the risotto
- In a pan on medium heat, toast the risotto rice for about 2 minutes (do not add oil, onion, butter, or water). Stir frequently.
- Add a splash of water to the rice to lower the temperature of the pan.
- Add the hot vegetable broth, one ladle at a time, and keep stirring.
- Repeat this until the risotto is cooked.
- Take away from the heat and add the pumpkin purée to the risotto. Fold in gently. Keep the risotto moist, if necessary add more vegetable broth.
- Fold in the nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with crush walnuts on top, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar glaze and some fresh thyme.
NUTRITION PER PORTION
STEP BY STEP VIDEO RECIPE
VIDEO GUIDE FOR VEGAN PUMPKIN RISOTTO
MAKE THE VEGETABLE BROTH
1: In a large pot, prepare the vegetable broth by adding the vegetable bouillon, the fresh thyme, and the bay leaf to the water.
Bring to boil, and keep to a high temperature throughout the cooking of the risotto.
MAKE THE BALSAMIC VINEGAR GLAZE
1: In a small pot, add the balsamic vinegar and let reduce on low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes.
2: Set aside and let cool down. At this point the balsamic vinegar should have thickened and should be pourable with a spoon.
MAKE THE PUMPKIN PURÉE
1: Peel, seed, and cut the pumpkin into small dice. Then cook it in a pan with one glass of vegetable stock until soft.
2: With a hand blender, turn the pumpkin into a smooth purée. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
COOK THE RISOTTO
1: In a pan on medium heat, toast the risotto rice for about 2 minutes (do not add oil, onion, butter, or water). Stir frequently.
2: Add a splash of water to the rice to lower the temperature of the pan.
3: Add the hot vegetable broth, one ladle at a time, and keep stirring. Repeat this until the risotto is cooked.
4: Take away from the heat and add the pumpkin purée to the risotto. Fold in gently. Keep the risotto moist, if necessary add more vegetable broth.
5: Fold in the nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6:Serve with crush walnuts on top, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar glaze and some fresh thyme.
SERVING SUGGESTION FOR VEGAN PUMPKIN RISOTTO
CHANGES YOU CAN MAKE
We recommend you to focus on seasonal ingredients in your risotto - they will enhance the flavours and make your wallet happier. In this recipe (late autumn/winter season), we use pumpkin and thyme, but here are some alternatives:
Summer: tomato and basil, autumn: wild mushrooms and parsley, winter: butternut squash & kale, spring: lemon and asparagus (and peas). All year & sweet version, use risotto + pine nuts + raisins + spinach.
STORAGE
It's best to consume risotto as soon as it's cooked. If you have leftovers, keep the risotto in the fridge in a class container with a lid and heat it up on a pan before eating. Add additional water if the surface and consistency has dried up, but be careful not to over-cook as we want to keep the chewy centre of the risotto.
This recipe was adapted from "Massimo Bottura's Masterclass".
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