The 10 Best Risotto Recipes

Method:

A risotto worth sitting down for

Pumpkin melts into the rice and gives this risotto its warm colour and mellow sweetness. Allow about 45 minutes. A firm-fleshed pumpkin or butternut squash works well; cooking it before adding it to the rice means the grains and vegetables will be ready together. This recipe serves four. Set out the ingredients before you start and use Carnaroli or Arborio rice, without rinsing it: its starch is what makes the risotto creamy.

Before you start

Heat the stock and cut the peeled, deseeded pumpkin into 1 cm cubes. Finely chop the onion. Soften the onion in the olive oil in a saucepan for five minutes, then add the pumpkin and 150 ml of the stock. Cover and simmer for 12–15 minutes until the pumpkin yields easily to a fork; mash about half of it roughly.

Build the flavour

In a second wide pan melt 20 g butter, add the rice and toast for two minutes, stirring. Add one ladle of hot stock, then fold in the cooked pumpkin with its onion and any remaining cooking liquid.

Cook the rice

Add hot stock a ladle at a time, keeping the rice at a gentle, steady simmer. Stir regularly, sweeping the bottom of the pan, and add more liquid when the previous ladle is mostly absorbed, before the rice dries out. Start tasting after 15 minutes; most risotto rice needs 16–20 minutes from the first stock addition. It should be tender with a little resistance in the centre. You may not need all the stock; if it runs out, use hot water.

Finish and serve

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the remaining 20 g cold butter and 60 g finely grated Parmesan until glossy.

Taste for salt and pepper, then leave to rest for two minutes. Loosen with a splash of hot liquid if needed: the risotto should spread gently across a warm plate when you tap it, rather than sit in a stiff mound. Bring everyone to the table before serving; this is a dish that rewards being eaten straight away.