Pumpkin risotto recipe: the Mantovana way with sage
Roasting the squash before it meets the rice is what keeps this autumn risotto tasting of pumpkin instead of watered-down orange starch.
Pumpkin risotto recipe success turns on one unglamorous step: roasting the squash first, so its water burns off in the oven before it ever reaches the rice.
Mantovana pumpkin, grown around Mantua in Lombardy, has dense, sweet flesh that holds its shape better than wetter varieties like butternut. It is the variety behind the region's classic autumn risottos and its stuffed tortelli, and the reason this dish tastes of pumpkin rather than orange-tinted water.
Ingredients
Roast the pumpkin first, and the risotto tastes of pumpkin instead of orange water.
- 1.2 kg Mantovana pumpkin, or another dense, sweet squash, halved and seeded
- 320 g carnaroli or arborio rice
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 120 ml dry white wine
- 1.2 litres vegetable stock, kept at a bare simmer
- 60 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 50 g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
- A small bunch of sage leaves, a few fried crisp for garnish
- Olive oil, salt and pepper
Method
- Roast the pumpkin halves cut-side down at 200°C for 35-40 minutes, until the flesh collapses. Oven heat evaporates the water that boiling would trap, so the purée tastes concentrated instead of diluted. Cool, scoop out about 500g of flesh and mash roughly.
- Soften the onion in olive oil over low heat for 8-10 minutes without colouring, then stir in the rice and toast for 2 minutes until the edges turn translucent. Toasting coats each grain in fat, which slows the starch's release so the rice cooks evenly rather than turning to mush.
- Pour in the wine and let it evaporate completely, stirring. Begin adding the simmering stock one ladle at a time, waiting for each to be absorbed before the next, for about 16-18 minutes in total.
- At the 12-minute mark, fold in the pumpkin purée and keep adding stock until the rice is al dente with a loose, flowing consistency, not a stiff mound.
- Off the heat, beat in the cold butter and Parmesan hard and fast, the mantecatura. The shock of cold fat against hot rice emulsifies the starch into cream instead of letting it separate. Season, cover, and rest for one minute before serving.
- Plate and scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds, crisp sage leaves and extra Parmesan.
What to pour with it
Pumpkin's sweetness needs acid, not more richness. A dry Lambrusco or a lean Gavi cuts through the butter and Parmesan far better than a heavier white would, and the slight chill keeps each spoonful tasting fresh rather than cloying.
The same roasting trick works on other dense squash, and the rice base pairs just as well with Mantua's tortelli di zucca, the stuffed-pasta cousin of this dish.
Can I prepare the pumpkin ahead? Yes. Roast and purée it up to two days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge; the cold purée just needs a minute in the pan to warm through before it joins the rice.
