This super simple but always impressive gluten-free Pumpkin and Sage Risotto is the perfect dish to warm you up on a cold day—true comfort food at its finest.
Ingredients
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, chopped (about ½ cup)
- 15 fresh sage leaves, chiffonaded
- 1 cup arborio risotto rice
- ½ pound (a bit over 1 cup) fresh pumpkin meat, diced into bite-size pieces as evenly sized as possible
- Freshly cracked black pepper and salt
- Freshly grated nutmeg (or a pinch of dried nutmeg)
- ⅓ cup Parmesan-Romano cheese, finely grated
Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring stock to a gentle boil on high heat, then reduce heat to low and keep on a continual simmer.
In a large sauté pan or Dutch oven, warm the olive oil on medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook on low heat, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn the shallots, until they are softened, about 6 to 7 minutes.
Add the chiffonaded sage and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the rice and mix well to coat the rice with the mixture, then ladle in ⅓ of the warm stock. Stir well, turn heat up to medium and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the stock has almost all been absorbed, about 9 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Once the first ⅓ of the stock is absorbed, add in the diced pumpkin, a bit of salt and pepper, a generous grating of nutmeg and another ⅓ of the stock. Stir well and frequently, and cook on a gentle simmer until the stock has again all been absorbed, about 9 minutes.
Add in another ladle or two of stock and continue to cook on a gentle simmer, stirring often, until the pumpkin is soft and the rice is al dente, about 4 to 5 more minutes. You may not need all the stock, so add in slowly here. It’s fine if you have a bit left over. The most important thing is the rice should have a bit of bite left and be al dente. You don’t want it to be a bowl of mush—it should have a nice, creamy consistency.
Once the pumpkin is fork tender and the rice is al dente, turn off the heat and stir in the grated cheese, some more freshly cracked black pepper and a bit more nutmeg, if desired.
Stir well and serve immediately.
Nutrition Analysis: 300 cal, 12 g fat, 5 mg chol, 260 mg sodium, 44 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 7 g protein.
Jilly Lagasse began cooking as a child when her father, Chef Emeril Lagasse, gave her a set of chef’s whites and let her help in the pastry and dessert department in one of his restaurants. She was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2004 and has written two gluten-free cookbooks with her sister, Jessie Lagasse Swanson, as the duo The Lagasse Girls, www.lagassegirls.com. She splits her time between New Orleans and New York doing special cooking events and gluten-free pop-ups.
