Tobie Puttock’s pumpkin, chestnut and crispy sage risotto
Serves four
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and very finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- About 200g butternut pumpkin, skin removed and diced into 2cm cubes
- 200g-carnaroli-risotto rice
- Splash of white wine
- About 2-4 cups of hot chicken or vegetable stock
- 70g butter
- 100g grated Parmesan
- About 20 sage leaves
- About 12 roasted chestnuts, skins removed
- 50g butter
- Knob of Parmesan for grating
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan, add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté over a low/medium heat until soft but not coloured.
Add the diced pumpkin and continue to sauté while stirring for a further 10 minutes so the pumpkin is soft but without colour.
Once the pumpkin is soft add the rice and increase the heat to medium/high and stir until the rice grains become transparent.
Add the wine and once the wine has evaporated add the hot stock a ladle at a time so the rice is submerged but not swimming. Once the stock comes to the boil reduce to a gentle simmer adding stock as it’s needed. Make sure you really stir the base of the pan, as it will be prone to stick. Cook the rice for about 12-15 minutes or until al dente.
At this stage remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan and one more ladle of hot stock. Stir to combine all the ingredients and then pop a lid on the pot and allow it to rest for a minute or two.
While the risotto is resting pop a pan onto the heat and melt the remaining butter over a high heat and add the chestnuts and sage, jiggle the pan so the butter coats all the sage. Once the butter starts to turn a nutty colour and the sage is crispy remove the sage and chestnuts from the pan with a spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
At this stage the risotto should be lovely, swollen and creamy. Arrange the risotto between the plates and top with the crispy sage and chestnuts and finally finish with freshly grated Parmesan and enjoy immediately.