Sage Butter and Pumpkin Risotto

More About This Recipe

• Risotto isn’t actually complicated, but don’t bother telling that to your friends when you serve it. Creamy, cheesy, warm, pumpkin-y—THIS is how you do fall comfort food.
  
  Risotto has the quite the reputation, doesn’t it? If you made a list of top ten foods that folks are scared to do at home, risotto would be somewhere near the top between “baking with yeast” and “pressure canning.”
  
  The truth? Risotto gets a diva rep because you can’t just set-it-and-forget, but it isn’t actually complicated. To make a really great risotto, you gotta do some babysitting. But holy guacamole, it is WORTH IT.
  
  This fall-tastic risotto recipe is a great place to get your feet wet. It’s packed with butter, fresh sage and hearty, sweet autumn flavor thanks to pumpkin puree. You can do this. Here’s how:
  
  It’s always a good idea to have everything ready to go when cooking, but with risotto, it’s super important. Get all your vegetables chopped and make sure you have all the ingredients measured and ready to roll.
  
  First up, pour eight cups of Progresso™ Chicken or Vegetable Broth into a medium-size saucepan and heat it to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and keep it simmering while you move on.
  
  In a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, melt a half stick of butter, and then add in a big handful of chopped fresh sage leaves. Stir that baby and just wait for the smell to hit you. (Are you excited? You should be excited.)
  
  Add in one diced onion and three cloves of minced garlic. Sauté it until your whole house smells so good you might just pass out. (Also known as “about three minutes.)
  
  Next up, pour in two cups of Arborio rice—that’s the kind of rice you use to make risotto, and you can nab it in the grain aisle at your supermarket—and stir, stir, stir until each grain of rice is coated with the buttery goodness. Keep stirring and cooking until the rice just begins to slightly brown and smell toasty.
  
  Turn off the heat (or remove the pan from the burner) and pour in half a cup of white wine. Return the pan to heat, and use a spoon to scrape up any yummy brown bits that were on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring the rice until the wine is mostly absorbed.
  
  Once the wine is soaked in, take a ladle and add one ladleful of the hot broth to the pan. Stir the rice constantly until the broth is soaked in. It shouldn’t take too long, just a minute or two.
  
  Once that first ladleful is soaked up, add in another ladleful of broth, stir until it’s absorbed, and keep on keepin’ on with this pattern until you have about two cups of broth left to add. This should take 15-20 minutes.
  
  Depending on the age of your rice and the humidity in the air, you might need more or less broth to get the rice tender. The only way to know if it’s done? Taste it, baby! Grab yourself a spoon and keep tasting until it’s soft, tender and oh-so-creamy.
  
  Once the risotto is creamy and tender, remove it from the heat. Stir in the remaining half stick of butter, a half cup of Parmesan and a full cup of pumpkin puree. Stir until it’s all melted.
  
  Serve immediately topped with more sage leaves and pepitas (if you like the crunch).