Chicken and Pumpkin Risotto
Forget all the rest, Tenina knows her risottos. Years of working for Thermomix made her the expert! And her risottos are the best!
I have been making risotto using the Thermomix longer than anyone I know! And if we are being completely transparent, I can spot a good Thermomix risotto recipe a mile off, it is all about the ratios, (see point 2 below!) I spend a loooong time testing risotto at Thermomix HQ when I was the recipe developer there many moons ago. I could go so far as saying I made it so often that I didn't eat risotto for years afterwards! But I am over that completely now and during the cooler months, we may even have it once a week. I like to add other flavours and being a pumpkin fan, this was always going to get written up. I have done it for years but never put a recipe on here. Because rice is pretty bland, you can add almost anything to it that pleases your palate. So get creative and let me know what your favourites are!
My top risotto tips and tricks right here:
- Always use a risotto rice. This would mean arborio or carnaroli or nano all of which have excellent absorption properties whilst releasing the necessary starch to make the risotto creamy. Any other variety of rice will just give you a soggy, gluey mess. Some risottos add cream and we have it in this recipe as an optional extra, but in fact the rice should create the creaminess as it cooks, the grains bumping against each other with just enough force to release their starches together into a lovely texture.
- The ratio of liquid to rice should be a minimum 1.5. So, for 300g rice, you should have at least 550g liquid. Personally I enjoy a lot more liquid in my risotto than that, and as we are using the thermomix, and there is no stirring involved, it is easy to add much more. But never go under that ratio.
- Rice is quite bland, so add as much flavour as you deem necessary. Herbs, cheese, prawns, aromatics like garlic, leek, onions, eschalots etc, roasted pumpkin, capsicum, eggplant, pine nuts, lemon zest, butter, more butter, cream (which actually then makes it something called Mantecato) and of course anything else that takes your fancy.
- Don’t be afraid to add more liquid. If the rice seems to be absorbing it all, splash in some more alcohol, stock or water.
- Now that you are an expert, go and do! Then post pics on social media to let your dinner porridge friends know!
We have quite a few risotto recipes that we love on here, don't forget to bookmark this recipe and come back for more!
Lemon, Pea and Parmesan Risotto
Mushroom Risotto with Ian Curley
Perfect Four Cheese Risotto in Thermomix
Creamy Leek Risotto with Rosemary Gremolata
Risotto with Truffled Feta and Sardine Crumb
Roasted Tomato Quinoa with Basil Pesto
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Need
- 500 Grams pumpkin, peeled and cubed
- 300 Grams chicken thighs cubed
- 20 Grams Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) plus some more for risotto BUY
- pink salt flakes to taste BUY
- black pepper to taste
- 60 Grams parmesan cheese cubed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots, peeled
- 300 Grams arborio rice or Carnaroli or Nano rice
- 100 Grams white wine
- 700 Grams liquid stock of choice
- cream to taste (optional) BUY
- fresh thyme to garnish
Do
- 1
Place prepared pumpkin and chicken onto a paper lined tray and drizzle with EVOO and season with salt flakes and cracked black pepper.
- 2
Roast for 30 minutes in the oven at 180°C.
- 3
Place parmesan into Thermomix bowl and mill 8 sec/speed 8. Remove from bowl and set aside.
- 4
Place garlic, shallots and 20g EVOO into the Thermomix bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and saute 3 min/Varoma/speed 1.
- 5
Add rice and white wine and saute 2 min/Varoma/Reverse/speed 1.5. (Not rocket science here folks, find a spot between speed 1 and speed 2 and call it speed 1.5!!)
- 6
Add stock, and another pinch of salt and cook 16 min/100ºC/Reverse/speed 1.5. Add roasted pumpkin and chicken and cook 6 min/100°C/Reverse/speed 1.5.
- 7
Add a splash of cream if using and stir through 3 sec/Reverse/speed 1.5.
- 8
Serve immediately with the grated parmesan and fresh thyme sprigs.
Served with
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of eight, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
