Italian Pumpkin Risotto with Meatballs
·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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.