With cripsy sage and goat’s cheese, this pumpkin risotto has a fresh new flavour

This dish is a sensational balance of sweet and salty. It’s like a hug in a bowl.

This risotto is like a hug in a bowl. Photo: Ben Dearnley

Jasmin Weston

2 min read

2 hours ago

The Weekend Australian Magazine

Print

Cooking is a form of self expression, it looks and feels different to everyone – that’s the beauty of it. And cooking at home ain’t that deep. It should be fun. It’s a craft that allows people all over the world to express themselves and their culture. So what if your dad’s aunt’s sister’s brother-in-law’s recipe is the crowd favourite at your annual compulsory family get together? If you think yours is better, then it is. It is better. Simple as that. There are no rules.

Try, too, my other rice recipes: one-pot Greek chicken and rice, and sticky sesame chicken and rice.

Jasmin Weston’s food philosophy is all about simple home cooking, as you like it.

This is an edited extract from Everyday Eats, by Jasmin Weston. Photography by Ben Dearnley

This dish is a sensational balance of sweet and salty. It’s like a hug in a bowl.

Pumpkin, goat’s cheese and fried sage risotto

Ingredients

• 1 small (600-800g) butternut pumpkin, deseeded and cut in half lengthways
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock
• 30g unsalted butter, plus extra if needed
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 275g (1 ¼ cups) arborio rice
• 50g (½ cup) freshly grated parmesan
• 80g (½ cup) pine nuts
• 150g goat’s cheese, crumbled

Crispy sage

• 30g unsalted butter
• Handful of fresh sage leaves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan-forced). Place the pumpkin halves on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
2. Brush the pumpkin with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until completely soft. When it has almost finished roasting, bring the stock to a low simmer in a saucepan over a medium to low heat.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, then sauté the onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, for 60 to 90 seconds until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the arborio rice and stir it through the onion.
4. Dry-cook the rice until it begins to turn semi-translucent. This will take an additional 60 to 90 seconds Add a cup or ladleful of the warm stock to the pan and stir it through. Only add another cup of stock to the pan once the previous cup/ladle has been 80 per cent absorbed by the rice. Continue adding the stock and stirring.
5. Halfway through cooking the rice, use a fork to shred the roasted pumpkin until it reaches a purée consistency. Add it to the risotto and stir to combine. Continue adding the stock and stirring it through.
6. Before the rice reaches al dente, make the crispy sage. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted and is starting to bubble, add the sage and fry for 60 to 90 seconds or until crispy. Remove the sage from the pan and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels; reserve the sage-infused brown butter in the pan.
7. When the rice is almost al dente, add the sage-infused butter to the risotto and stir it through to combine. Continue adding stock until the rice is cooked. (You don’t have to use all of the stock if the rice is cooked before you finish it. If you run out of stock, heat water in the same pan and use that. Turn off the heat, add the grated parmesan and stir it through. If the risotto is not as creamy as you would like, add a couple of extra knobs of cold butter and allow the residual heat in the pan to melt it as you stir it through.
8. Finally, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, dry-fry the pine nuts until they catch a little golden colour on both sides. Transfer to a bowl to cool slightly before serving. Serve topped with the goat’s cheese, pine nuts and crispy sage.

Serves 4