I love the pumpkin and use it for many dishes both savory and sweet.
The pumpkin goes well with meat and fish but also with other vegetables (fennel and celery root), with spices (turmeric, cumin, Indian saffron, mustard seeds, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, mace , pepper) and cheese (parmigiano, pecorino, ricotta cheese, Taleggio, provolone, gorgonzola)
In my trips I found the pumpkin Taraoudant, in Morocco, as a necessary ingredient for the cous cous vegetarian. In Mexico, I discovered that the seeds of "calabaza" roasted, salted and ground are a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine. In Austria, then, not only eat pumpkin seeds and glazed with sugar but you use a lot of pumpkin seed oil (kürbis kernöl) to dress especially the potato salad.
Wandering on the Internet you can find an infinite number of versions of
pumpkin risotto. My recipe is a tribute to one of its derivatives and pumpkin!
There are many varieties of pumpkins. I prefer the pumpkin
Neapolitan , elongated green-orange outside and bright orange inside. This pumpkin, compared to the round variety is less sweet, much more humid and a less mealy texture.
It lends itself well to sauces and dressings, but not as a filling for ravioli because it tends to moisten the dough too.
Serves 2 400g of pumpkin
Neapolitan to clean
2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil salt
grain rice 140g (rome - carnaroli)
50g butter 25g parmesan
25 g pecorino romano
onion ½ cup dry white wine 1 finger
0.5 liters of vegetable stock 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds roasted and ground coarsely 2 teaspoons
oil pumpkin
clean the pumpkin and cut it into pieces and then let it simmer in a pan with a clove of garlic and 2 tablespoons of oil over a low heat with the lid until it is cooked.
In a risotto pan fry for 10 minutes on low heat in 30g of butter, a chopped mixture of onion and a small clove of garlic.
Add the rice and toast for 2-3 minutes on high heat, trying not to burn anything :-) then blended with white wine and add just a spoonful of broth and half the pumpkin.
Continue cooking for about 15min by adding broth as necessary. When cooked add the rest of the pumpkin and removed from the heat. Season with
20gr butter and cheese then cover and let rest for a couple of minutes. Serve
After 3-4 minutes on each plate and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds, pour a teaspoon of pumpkin oil and ... more cheese if you want! (Preferably sheep)