Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon

Why This Pumpkin Risotto Is So Good

• Bacon fat carries the flavor through the entire dish, since the shallots and rice cook right in it.
• Pumpkin puree gets stirred in partway through cooking, so it melts into the rice instead of just sitting on top.
• It’s a genuinely special-occasion dinner made from ingredients you likely already have in the pantry.

Ingredient Notes

• Bacon – pick a meatier bacon over a fatty one. Fattier bacon doesn’t crisp evenly, and you end up with soft, greasy pieces instead of crispy ones.
• Shallots – their mild sweetness works better here than a stronger onion would.
• Arborio rice – this short grain rice is the only kind that gives risotto its signature creamy texture. Its higher starch content is what releases and thickens the dish as it cooks.
• Dry white wine – pick one you’d actually enjoy drinking, since the flavor carries into the dish.
• Pumpkin puree – canned puree works well and saves time. Fresh roasted and mashed pumpkin works too, if you’d rather use it.
• Parmesan cheese – freshly grated melts in smoother than the pre-shredded kind, which is coated in anti-caking starches that can leave the risotto grainy instead of silky.

How to Make Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon

1. Prep everything before you start – Dice the bacon into small pieces and slice the shallots thin. Bacon is much easier to dice while it’s still cold, straight from the fridge, rather than after it’s sat out and softened.
2. Warm the stock first, and don’t skip this – Bring the stock to a simmer in a small pot, then lower the heat to keep it warm. Season it with salt and pepper now. This is the single biggest thing that separates good risotto from bad risotto: cold stock added to hot rice drops the temperature of the whole pan, and the rice stops cooking evenly while it waits to come back up to heat.
3. Cook the bacon, then add the shallots – Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook it alone for a few minutes first, stirring often, before adding the shallots. Sauté both together until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes total, making sure all the bacon fat renders out along the way. Letting the bacon go first means the shallots cook in that rendered fat instead of plain oil, which is what carries the bacon flavor through the entire dish.
4. Toast the rice – Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the rice. Let it cook with the bacon and shallots for a couple of minutes, stirring often. Toasting the rice here coats each grain in fat, which helps it hold its shape once the liquid starts going in.
5. Add half the wine first – Pour in half the wine, stir, and spread it evenly across the pan. Let the rice simmer gently and absorb it fully, stirring again once it’s absorbed. Adding only half here, with the rest saved for later, spreads the wine’s acidity through two stages of cooking instead of dumping all the flavor in at once.
6. Add the first cup of stock – Once the wine is absorbed, stir in about a cup of the warm stock. Let it simmer gently until the rice absorbs it completely before moving on.
7. Stir in the pumpkin with the second half of wine – Add the pumpkin puree along with the remaining wine at the same time, stir well, and spread it out evenly again. Let it simmer until the rice absorbs all the liquid. Bringing the pumpkin in partway through, rather than at the very end, gives it time to melt into the rice instead of just sitting on top as a topping.
8. Keep adding stock, tasting as you go – Continue adding stock about a cup at a time, stirring in between and letting the rice fully absorb each addition before adding more. Taste and adjust the seasoning partway through, since the stock’s saltiness can vary. This step is where most risotto goes wrong: adding all the stock at once instead of gradually is exactly what makes rice turn out gummy instead of creamy.
9. Check doneness by taste, not the clock – The risotto is ready when the rice is al dente: no hard, crunchy center, but not mushy either. Pan size and stove heat both affect how long this actually takes, so taste near the end rather than going by a fixed time.
10. Stir in the parmesan – Add the parmesan during the last few minutes of cooking and let it fully incorporate before taking the pan off the heat.
11. Serve right away – Risotto keeps thickening the longer it sits in the pan, so it’s at its creamiest the moment it comes off the stove.

Bacon Pumpkin Risotto Recipe FAQ

How to Store Leftover Pumpkin Risotto

• Refrigerator: store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Reheating: reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of stock to loosen it back up, since the rice continues to absorb liquid as it sits. You can also use a microwave but reheat in 30-40 second increments, stirring in between.

More Risotto Recipes From Me

• Parmesan Risotto
• Mushroom Risotto
• Lobster Risotto
• Creamy Tomato Basil Risotto
• Lemon Risotto with Lemon Pepper Shrimp

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