A creamy Risotto with the fall flavor of roasted pumpkin and the intense aroma and creaminess of Gorgonzola cheese, the Italian blue cheese. This Risotto is comforting and delicious, perfect for a weeknight meal or Sunday dinner with the family. You can use homemade pumpkin purèe or even canned to make the recipe even quicker.
I don’t know about you, but as soon as I start seeing pumpkins for sale at the market I cannot resist buying them! The good thing is that they last a long time so I can choose what to do with them and do as many different recipes as possible. From pumpkin cookies to roasted pumpkin as a side dish, to pumpkin soup and my favorite, pumpkin risotto.
My aunt used to make me the best pumpkin risotto ever, so flavorful and creamy, not too sweet, not too salty. So I’ve always been in love with this dish. I always try to make it slightly different every time, like my Porcini Mushrooms and Pumpkin Risotto, or this Pumpkin Risotto with Gorgonzola Cheese.
How to make Pumpkin Risotto
Pumpkin risotto is a fairly easy recipe to make, like any risotto recipe. Essentially you only need to add pumpkin purèe while the risotto is cooking, so you have 4 options:
- Use canned pumpkin puree. Buy the 100% pumpkin without any flavorings.
- Peel the pumpkin, cut it into cubes and boil in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Then blend it until you get a smooth puree.
- Roast the pumpkin. You can cut the pumpkin in slices or pieces and season with olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Roast at 200°C/400°F for about 20-30 minutes or until soft. You can then blend it until you get a smooth puree. This way you’ll have an incredible flavor.
- Roast the whole pumpkin to make homemade pumpkin puree. I do this often as I can bake the pumpkin once and then use the puree for many different recipes.
My favorite option is the third, as roasting the pumpkin in small pieces with seasonings makes the pumpkin super flavorful. But for this recipe, I used pumpkin puree I made by roasting the whole pumpkin.
How to make homemade Pumpkin Puree
It’s super easy to make homemade pumpkin puree. You can make it in a couple of hours and from a small pumpkin, I had enough pumpkin puree to make this risotto, cookies, soup, and pancakes, all for 2 people.
I followed this guide on how to cook pumpkin and make homemade puree. The instructions are very easy if you roast the whole pumpkin:
- Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and place it cut side down on a lined baking sheet
- Rub it with a little bit of oil. Since I wanted to use it for both sweet and savory recipes I did not add any seasonings, but you can season with salt and pepper or sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon.
- Roast at 190°C/375°F for 40-50 minutes, then let it cool at least half-hour.
- Peel off the skin and add the flesh to a blender. Blend until you get a smooth purèe.
Once you have your homemade pumpkin purèe, you can store it in airtight containers in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for about 6 months.
What is Gorgonzola cheese
Gorgonzola cheese is the most famous Italian blue cheese. It has been produced for centuries in the town of Gorgonzola, near Milan. Nowadays, Gorgonzola cheese is produced in many areas throughout Piedmont and Lombardy.
This cheese is produced is 2 main varieties, spicy and mild. They don’t have any additional flavorings but the difference is based on the strength of flavor due to the aging process.
As with all blue cheeses, it can be eaten in many ways, both raw and cooked. It pairs very well with sweet ingredients like pears (see this Pear and Gorgonzola cheese Risotto), figs, pumpkin, honey, and even more savory ingredients like bacon (see this Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon and Gorgonzola), prosciutto, and other meat.
If you cannot find Gorgonzola in your supermarket, you can substitute it with any mild blue cheese or Taleggio cheese.
The Recipe
If you like this recipe, try also these other pumpkin recipes:
Pumpkin Risotto with Gorgonzola cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pumpkin Purèe
- 1/2 White Onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup Risotto Rice, Carnaroli
- 3 tbsp White Wine
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1/4 tsp Thyme
- 2 tbsp Gorgonzola cheese, mild
- 1 tbsp Parmigiano cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp Butter
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Instructions
- Drizzle some olive oil in a large pan, then add the finely chopped onion and the rice. Turn on the heat and toast the rice for 1-3 minutes (be careful not to burn the onion).
- Pour the white wine and let it evaporate, then add a part of vegetable broth. Bring again to boil then turn the heat to low and let it simmer, mixing with a wooden spoon once in a while.
- Every time that the broth is absorbed by the rice, add a little bit more. Continue until the rice is cooked al dente (about 20 minutes).
- Halfway through the cooking, add the pumpkin purèe, the thyme, and some salt. Continue cooking adding more broth when necessary.
- When the rice is cooked al dente, turn off the heat, add the butter and Parmigiano cheese and mix well. At this point, the risotto should be creamy. Season to taste then serve in bowls and add the Gorgonzola cheese on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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