Stop… pumpkin  time!

Alright, here’s what’s up. The weather is cooling down, at least at night. All my fun pumpkin and other fall recipes are slowly creeping in. and let me tell you….. I’m excited. Honestly, I won’t spend all day here talking about the less important stuff, let’s get straight to the facts – Pumpkin is the law of the land from September 1 through November 30. This marks the time of year where I’m a little more lax on my food preferences, because I like to enjoy holidays to the fullest extent. Also, I tried making this recipe with cauliflower rice and it just wasn’t as indulgent.

Cue: Pumpkin Risotto, The Food You Didn’t Know You Needed Until You Ate It. This is creamy, gluten-free, delicious, flavorful, and has a lot of room to make it super indulgent for your friends without dietary restrictions, and if you make too much, you can do what I did and make arancini with the leftovers J While I would’ve loved to make this paleo, I chose not to because I wanted to make sure I got the full effect of a good fall dish. If you’re going to use cauliflower rice as a substitute, proceed with caution. Cauliflower holds more water and less flavor – you may need to go a bit heavier on your seasonings if using cauliflower.

Let’s jump in, shall we?

Pumpkin Risotto with Fried Sage and Feta (Gluten-Free with Vegan Option!)

prep time: 15 min

cook time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth if making vegan)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
• 3 tbsp ghee or butter, separated (vegan option: 2 tbsp coconut oil)
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• ½ cup fresh sage, loosely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• Small handful of fresh parsley, finely  chopped
• sea salt to taste (be generous!)
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch of pumpkin pie seasoning (a literal pinch – nothing more than to make fragrant)
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta

Directions

1. In a large mixing cup, combine your pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a small skillet, heat 1-2 tbsp of your butter over medium heat. Gently add a piece of sage to test the temperature and see how long it takes your sage to brown. Once you’ve tested, arrange your sage leaves in a single layer, allowing to crisp, about 20-30 seconds, working in batches if necessary. Sage doesn’t contain a lot of water, so it doesn’t take a lot of time to crisp. If it turns completely brown, it’s fried too long. Set aside on a plate/napkin to let cool.
3. Next, in a large sauce pan or pot, melt 2 tbsp of your butter (or oil) over medium heat, Add your shallot, garlic, and pinch of salt. Sauté until shallot becomes translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add your thyme and uncooked rice, stirring to coat rice with mixture. Continue cooking, stirring frequently to prevent rice from browning too much.
5. Turn your heat down to medium low. A half cup at a time, slowly add your pumpkin stock mixture until it evaporates. Add another half cup, allowing the liquid to absorb until you are out of liquid, all in all about 20 minutes. The rice should be cooked, not entirely al dente, but not gummy. It should still have a creamy texture. Do a taste test and adjust with salt and pepper. Remember – you will be adding additional sage and feta, so don’t go too heavy handed.
6. Serve, and garnish with feta and sage.

Enjoy!

-S