Baked Pumpkin Risotto

October is full-blown pumpkin season—they are literally everywhere you look. I love all the fabulous varieties you see adorning front porches and dining room tables, and those giant field pumpkins piled up just waiting to become jack o' lanterns. When it comes to cooking, though, it helps to know what type of pumpkin to choose. Ignore all those decorator and Halloween pumpkins. They are not at all sweet, but rather stringy, bland, and watery, and you will be sad if you try to use one in a recipe.

Instead, choose pumpkins perfect for cooking and baking, like Sugar Pie, Cheese, Blue Hokkaido, Rouge Vif d'Etampes, or red Kuri. My two favorites are cheese and Rouge Vif d’Étampes, often called Cinderella pumpkins because of their squat shape. Cheese pumpkins have a flat tan or buff colored skin with sweet dark orange flesh, perfect for cooking. Cut them in half, scoop out all the seeds and strings, lay cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roast (any temp between 350 and 425 degrees F will do) until you can easily pierce the skin with a fork. Scoop out the flesh and mash (with a fork or an immersion blender) until completely smooth. Use it within a week, or freeze up to 6 months, but definitely make this risotto!

OVEN BAKED PUMPKIN RISOTTO (serves 4, total time 1 hour)

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 cup fresh pumpkin puree (such as cheese, Rouge Vif d'Etampes, or Sugar Pie)

• 1 cup Arborio rice

• 3 shallots, minced

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin olive oil (EVOO)

• 1/2 cup good dry white wine, divided

• Kosher salt

• 1 bay leaf

• 4 cups vegetable stock, homemade or Better Than Bouillion

• 1 cup Pecorino Romano

WHAT YOU DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring 4 cups of vegetable stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan and have at the ready. Heat 1 tbsp. butter and one 1 tbsp. EVOO in a medium, heavy-bottomed stock pot. When butter is melted, add minced shallots and a large pinch of kosher salt. Sauté until shallots are softened and translucent. Add rice and sauté, stirring, until it becomes opaque at the ends, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of wine and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in 1 cup pumpkin puree and 3 1/2 cups of hot stock. Drop in a bay leaf, give everything a stir, cover pot and place in oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately add remaining 1/4 cup of wine, 1/2 cup of stock, 3 tbsp. butter and 1 cup Pecorino Romano. Stir vigorously for about 3 minutes to coax the starch and create a creamy texture. Taste and adjust salt if needed (you can add a few grinds of fresh black pepper if you’d like). Serve immediately.