This recipe was shared with us by our friend Diana Baur, innkeeper of the Baur Bed and Breakfast located in the idyllic, rolling hills and vineyards just outside Acqui Terme in the Piemonte region of Italy. This region is a cooks’ treasure: terrific wines, black truffles, hazelnuts and of course risotto. Folks here have a real passion for cooking. We love this recipe and hope you will too. Thanks, Diana!
Ingredients
1 small pumpkin or two acorn squash
2 cups Arborio or Canaroli rice, highest quality (Canaroli preferred)
Skin and dice the pumpkin; cook it in boiling water until it is tender and drain off the excess liquid.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a roasting pan, mix the boiled pumpkin with the one diced small onion or half the large diced onion. Toss in a fair amount of olive oil, the sugar, and salt and pepper. Roast the pumpkin and onions for 30 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring the dissolved Fond de Poulet Gold® to a simmer and keep it at a simmer over low heat
In a large saucepan, heat about a quarter cup of olive oil. Add the second half of the diced onion. Sauté over medium heat until transparent.
Add the rice and toss it in the hot oil until it starts to toast.
Add the white wine, and cook, stirring frequently, until it is absorbed.
Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the stock before adding the next ladleful, stirring consistently.
When the rice is just resistant to the bite, add the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Continue cooking and adding stock until the rice is "al dente" and there is a small amount of fluid to make the rice creamy. Remove the risotto from the heat, add the butter, the herbs, and the cheese, and season with salt and pepper.
