Did you read my menu plan post this week? There was a lot of interest and curiosity surrounding the pumpkin risotto that I planned for Monday.
While in Maine last weekend, I saw a packaged mix for Pumpkin Risotto with Cranberries and thought – who needs a packaged mix? I can make this. And much to my surprise, I was right!
What You’ll Need:
1 Cup Arborio Rice
1 Quart Vegetable or Chicken Stock
1 Medium Onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 can of organic Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup of Dried Cranberries
What You’ll Do:
In a medium size saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 4-5 minutes; until the onion is soft. Add the rice and stir for 3-4 minutes, making sure to coat all of the rice with the olive oil-butter mixture.
Pour in two cups of the stock, that should be enough to cover your rice. If it isn’t, add more. As with all risotto, you’ll need to stir frequently. Keep up this stirring and cooking until all of the liquid is absorbed. Add one additional cup of stock, stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the remaining stock, and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente.You don’t want it crunchy.
Reduce heat to low, add the Parmesan Cheese and mix well. Stir in the pumpkin and cranberries. Enjoy!
This recipe comes together quite fast at the end. You’ll want to ensure your pumpkin and cranberries are ready to go. You could also use fresh pumpkin, but I didn’t want to do all that work not knowing how this would taste. Sometimes taking a little help from the store isn’t such a bad thing!
If you want to serve this as more of a dessert, you could add cinnamon to the butter step, omit the onion and add pumpkin pie spice at the end. That should round out the flavor and make it feel like a dessert. Of course, a dollop of fresh, homemade whipped cream would help your cause, too!
What is your favorite way to serve pumpkin?
Shannah @ Just Us Four says
Thanks for hosting!
Emily says
My pleasure! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Susan says
The rissotto looks great!
Emily says
Thanks! I’m so pleased that it turned out tasty!
Amanda says
I will have to pass this over to hubby, he loves cooking risotto, thanks for sharing!
Karyn says
I just started my own linky & would love to have you link your amazing recipe. It looks SO good!
http://cookingwithkaryn.blogspot.com/2011/11/mmmmm-monday-1-on-tuesday.html
Bill Elliott says
I love pumpkin and this looks great. I have never had this, but I will defiantly have to try it. Thank you for the recipe and post
Maria says
As a self described risotto expert…Very Nice!!! The coloring is beautiful, and I can only imagine the flavor! Thanks for sharing this!