Vegan Pumpkin Risotto with Fresh Sage

I don't know what has taken me so long to post this.  I actually made it a few weeks ago.  But, now is the perfect time to go pumpkin crazy, if you haven't already, that is.  We are going to turn orange over here if I keep cooking with pumpkins, squashes and carrots!

Remember you want to buy a cooking pumpkin!  These are much smaller and tastier than those pumpkins that you used for carving!  Trust me, I have made that mistake in the past.  Those carving pumpkins virtually have no taste.  Not meant for cooking!  Also, it is preferred to bake and cook your own pumpkin opposed to using the canned stuff.  There is something off putting about that stuff, unless its in a pie.

Like I have mentioned in other risotto recipes, any risotto takes patience and love.  You want to slowly add the liquid little by little, finessing the risotto consistently for about 20-25 minutes.  You want to do that because it releases the starches in the arborio rice so that it becomes soft and gives you that creamy texture.

Vegan Pumpkin Risotto with Fresh Sage

 

Ingredients:

1 cooking pumpkin, cut into large pieces

2 tbsp evoo

1 tbsp vegan butter

2 tbsp unsweetened, original almond milk

2 c arborio rice

6-8 c vegetable stock

4 shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c dry white wine

handful of fresh sage, chopped

s+p to taste

  

Directions:

Preheat oven 400.   Brush your pumpkin pieces with evoo and lightly season with salt and pepper.   Place pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet, flesh side up, and bake 30-45 minutes or until a knife can easily cut through the flesh.  Once baked, remove the skin and put the pumpkin, vegan butter and almond milk in a blender and blend until smooth.  Set aside.  

Heat the vegetable stock in a large pot and keep heated with flame on low-medium. 

In the meantime, heat evoo in a large saute pan and add shallots and garlic and saute until translucent.  Add in rice, and again, saute until translucent (about 3-5 minutes).  Add in white wine and continue to stir until absorbed.  Remember you will be continuously stirring throughout this whole process!  Add in 1/2 cup of broth at a time.  Do not add in the next cup until the cup prior is absorbed completely!!  Stir in pumpkin and chopped sage and season with salt and pepper  At the end of the process, your rice should have a beautiful creamy texture but not mushy.