Chili Pumpkin Cranberry Risotto with Spicy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 3 lbs sugar pumpkin, or any winter squash (butternut, kabocha, acorn, what have you)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pc small yellow onion diced small
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- 4 pcs hot red chilies seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 5 cups vegetable broth kept warm on the stove top
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (grate it fresh if you can)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Juice of one lime
- 1 teaspoon agave or pure maple syrup
For the pumpkin seeds, if using:
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- First the pumpkin needs to be roasted. I would suggest doing this well in advance of preparing the risotto for two reasons. One, you’ll need it to cool down so you can peel and chop it. And two, that way it doesn’t seem like you’re cooking for so long and the actual risotto takes only about 35 minutes. If you’re using pumpkin you can also roast the seeds to use as a garnish. Yeah, you can roast the seeds of other squashes, I just don’t think they taste very good.
- So. To prepare the pumpkin and seeds: Preheat oven to 350 F. Hack pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and stringy bits with a tablespoon. Reserve the seeds and place them in a colander to clean. Lightly oil a baking sheet and place the pumpkin face down on sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork, but not completely mushy. Once cooled, peel off the skin and chop pumpkin into bite sized pieces.
- In the meantime, wash the pumpkin seeds and dry completely with a kitchen towel. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with a little olive oil, toss to coat. You can toast them in the oven while the pumpkin bakes, it usually takes about 15 minutes. Toss once or twice. Remove from oven and place in a bowl to cool. Once cooled, sprinkle with the spices to coat.
- And now and only now, are you ready to actually start the risotto. Have your broth ready and warming on the stove before you begin.
- Preheat a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and chilies in the oil for about 7 minutes, stirring often so you don’t burn it. Add the risotto and stir to coat with oil. Add wine to deglaze the pot, then add first cup of vegetable broth. Use a wooden spoon to stir until most of the water is absorbed. You don’t have to stir the entire time, just as frequently as you can stand.
- Continue adding veggie broth then stirring a few more times, until only a cup of broth is left. When you’re at the last cup, add the pumpkin and cranberries and repeat stirring. When most of the liquid has absorbed, add salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and lime juice. Stir in coconut milk. Cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust salt. At this point you can also add a teaspoon or so of agave. This doesn’t make it sweet per se, it just enhances the natural sweetness of the squash and cranberries.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving, to let the flavors “marry.” Scoop into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
