Name: Creamy Pumpkin Risotto with Meatballs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 piece Shallots; 10 milliliter Sunflower Oil; 25 gram Salt; 10 gram White Pepper; 1 liter Beef Stock (Clear); 500 gram Butternut Squash; 40 gram Unsalted Butter; 170 gram Arborio Rice; 200 milliliter Dry white wine; 10 milliliter Olive Oil; 500 gram Mixed Ground Meat; 5 gram Black Pepper; 1 piece Chicken Eggs; 90 gram Parmesan

Step-by-step method

Let’s cook

At a glance

You're making a creamy pumpkin risotto topped with simple homemade meatballs—it's a stunning dish that comes together easily with basic ingredients like arborio rice, white wine, and beef stock. The key is keeping the heat high and stirring constantly, especially when toasting the rice, and then gradually ladling in the hot stock one batch at a time over about 20 minutes while you taste along the way.

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Chop the shallot

Finely chop the shallot. Try to keep the pieces as even as possible, otherwise part of the shallot may end up slightly burnt while the rest hasn't turned properly translucent yet.

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2 piece
Shallots
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Heat up the pot

Place a stainless steel pot with a fairly thick base on the stove over full heat. Let it heat up, then add a knob of butter or a splash of olive oil. As soon as the butter melts (or the oil is in), add the shallot straight away.

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20 gram
Unsalted Butter
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Add the rice to the shallot

You can turn the heat down slightly, but not too much. Fry the shallot until it turns translucent. Turn the heat back up to full and add the dry rice to the shallot.

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170 gram
Arborio Rice

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Stir constantly

Stir vigorously and don't stop. The rice will change colour as it fries, which takes about two to three minutes. You really mustn't stop stirring during this time, so the rice and shallot don't catch. This is when we season with salt and pepper.

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10 gram
Salt

10 gram
White Pepper
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Pour in the wine

Pour the wine over the toasted rice, still with the heat on full. Keep stirring and wait until all the wine has evaporated and there's no liquid left in the pot. Now it's time for the hot stock, which we've already been warming in a separate pot on another burner.

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200 milliliter
Dry white wine

1 liter
Beef Stock (Clear)
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Just below the surface

Add just enough stock so the rice sits just below the surface of the liquid. The rice grains shouldn't be peeking out, but there shouldn't be too much liquid on top either.
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Tip: add the stock carefully

If you misjudge the amount of stock near the end of cooking, you'll end up waiting for the liquid to absorb while the rice overcooks in the meantime. That's why we always add one ladleful at a time, stir, wait for it to be absorbed, and only then add the next ladleful.
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Pumpkin purée

Cut the pumpkin into pieces and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then take it out and blend until smooth. It's best to make the purée ahead of time and simply reheat it later.

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500 gram
Butternut Squash

10 milliliter
Olive Oil

5 gram
Salt

5 gram
Black Pepper
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Add the purée, keep ladling and tasting

Add the pumpkin purée right after the first batch of stock. Keep tasting as you go. If the dish needs more salt, season early so it has time to soak into the rice grains themselves, not just the sauce.
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Meatballs

Mix together the ground meat, salt, pepper, egg and parmesan into a well-combined mixture. Shape it into small meatballs and brown them in a little oil.

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500 gram
Mixed Ground Meat

10 gram
Salt

1 piece
Chicken Eggs

50 gram
Parmesan

10 milliliter
Sunflower Oil
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Tender rice

After about 20 to 25 minutes, the risotto should be ready. The only way to know when to stop cooking is by tasting and checking that the rice is soft enough. It definitely shouldn't be mushy or overcooked.
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Finishing with parmesan

Take the finished risotto off the heat. Have some well-chilled butter, cut into a few pieces, and grated parmesan ready. Add both to the pot and stir vigorously until the butter and cheese have completely melted in.

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20 gram
Unsalted Butter

40 gram
Parmesan
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Serving

This step will thicken the risotto further and round out the flavour. Serve it straight away on warmed plates. Give the bottom of each plate a few firm taps with your palm, and a properly made risotto will spread out beautifully across the plate.

Step-by-step method

At a glance

Chop the shallot

For this step

Heat up the pot

For this step

Add the rice to the shallot

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Stir constantly

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Pour in the wine

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Just below the surface

Tip: add the stock carefully

Pumpkin purée

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Add the purée, keep ladling and tasting

Meatballs

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Tender rice

Finishing with parmesan

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Serving

Italian Pumpkin Risotto with Meatballs

Ingredients — what you'll need

About this recipe

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