Wow Your Guests With A Special Thanksgiving Pumpkin Risotto
Donny Enriquez
Transcript
00:00 Guys, welcome back.
00:01 We're here in the new kitchen just in time for Thanksgiving.
00:03 I've got a ton of recipes that I've already put out.
00:05 The turkey, the soup, the stuffings, all the classics.
00:07 So this year I'm mixing it up.
00:08 We're going to do some fun things.
00:10 Today, we're making pumpkin risotto.
00:12 Let's get cooking.
00:13 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
00:15 All right, guys.
00:16 For pumpkin risotto, we got the basics, the essentials.
00:18 I have some shallots.
00:19 I have some butter.
00:20 This is where we're going to get all our flavor.
00:21 We're using pumpkin puree.
00:23 Now, I would also recommend using a real pumpkin.
00:25 For some reason, I couldn't find one at the three stores.
00:28 They're all out of pumpkins.
00:29 I have a backup.
00:30 We have a squash, very similar, same family.
00:31 It's going to do what we need for this recipe.
00:33 To add a little bit more pumpkin flavor, I'm using some pumpkin spice.
00:36 Now, if you can't find this, it's pretty easy to make yourself.
00:39 It's just nutmeg, a little bit of allspice, some maple in there.
00:42 You can just get away with probably using a little bit of nutmeg.
00:44 We're adding just a pinch of this to really bring home that pumpkin flavor.
00:47 We're going to get started over here on the pan.
00:48 Now, with risotto, you need a good chicken stock too, and you're going to need some white
00:52 wine.
00:53 So this chicken stock, whenever you're making risotto, you want to get your stock boiling,
00:56 boiling, boiling, because we're just going to add that in.
00:58 That's going to help cook that rice down.
01:00 With the stock though, we're going to add a little bit of a different twist here.
01:03 This is where the pumpkin puree comes in.
01:05 This is going to go directly into our stock.
01:07 It's about, I don't know, I'm going to say a cup of that, and we're using four to five
01:11 cups of chicken stock.
01:12 We'll see how much.
01:13 And also, you can use vegetable stock if you want.
01:15 If you want to make this completely vegetarian, go for it.
01:17 I just made this chicken stock yesterday.
01:18 It's fresh, it's delicious, and that'll go right back on the heat.
01:21 Look at that color though.
01:22 That is beautiful right there.
01:24 That's fall, that's pumpkin, that's the flavor of Thanksgiving, ladies and gentlemen.
01:27 Here we go.
01:28 Okay, so now risotto, we got to talk about one thing, is the rice.
01:30 You got to use arborio rice, risotto rice.
01:33 And unlike other, you know, every time you cook rice, everyone's like, "Wash it, wash
01:36 it, wash it," with risotto, you don't want to wash that starch off, because what's going
01:40 to happen is as it cooks, that's what's going to give you that thickness, that body of a
01:43 good risotto.
01:44 To start off, we're going to go into a pan with some butter, two tablespoons of butter
01:48 in that pan.
01:49 The whole process for risotto, you're going to stay on medium heat.
01:52 People get intimidated when they hear risotto.
01:53 They think, "Oh, it's fancy, it's super hot."
01:55 It's really not that bad.
01:56 It's something you can do while you're cooking other things for Thanksgiving.
01:58 So, all right, you're getting things roasted in the oven.
02:00 All right, stir my risotto.
02:01 Oh, you're doing, you're chopping some vegetables.
02:02 All right, go back, ladle in, stir my risotto.
02:04 So, you can multitask while you're cooking this.
02:06 That's what I like about this dish.
02:08 I just have a little bit of that squash that I chopped up earlier this morning, and I just
02:13 roasted.
02:14 So, we're going to stir this in, a little bit of fresh squash.
02:16 But I'm also going to do one other thing.
02:17 I'm going to get these off to the side.
02:20 And that's great color on there.
02:21 But here's what I'm thinking, a fun plating idea.
02:23 This is completely optional.
02:24 What I'm going to do is I'm going to take a squash.
02:27 I should have had my knife out, but I didn't.
02:29 You can use mini pumpkins too.
02:30 If you can find those little tiny pumpkins, this is going to work perfect.
02:32 We're going to make a little bit of a bowl out of it.
02:34 Hawk the bottom off so you have a nice flat surface.
02:36 Cut it in half.
02:37 Knock those seeds out.
02:39 Oh, there's a hole in my bowl.
02:40 It's all right, we're going to put it on a plate.
02:42 Just going to hit these with a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of salt.
02:45 This goes in the oven about 400 degrees, maybe 20 minutes.
02:48 You just want to soften it up.
02:49 And then we're going to get it to a point where you can actually scoop the edges into
02:52 your risotto if you'd like.
02:53 Let's get onto the risotto.
02:54 I have butter that's gone in and now I'm going to throw in some shallots.
02:58 That's your base for any standard risotto.
02:59 You're going to have butter and shallots to start out with.
03:02 We're just going to cook this down until it's translucent.
03:04 You want that just to sweat down.
03:06 You don't want to get any color.
03:07 You're not looking to caramelize these shallots at all.
03:09 You just want them to sweat.
03:10 So a nice medium heat, three, four minutes.
03:12 Okay, we're going to hit this with a little bit of fresh thyme.
03:15 Now whenever you're thinking holidays, fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it, you
03:19 want those deep flavors of rosemary, thyme, sage, brown butter.
03:23 That's going to be key.
03:24 Those are the real flavors that come through.
03:25 So a little bit of fresh thyme goes in there.
03:27 And then we're going to hit this with all of our rice that goes in.
03:29 See how those shallots turn translucent?
03:33 That's what you're looking for.
03:34 Now we go in with our rice.
03:35 And this is going to toast for a little bit.
03:37 You want this to kind of get a little bit of color on it.
03:39 Get friendly with that butter, with that thyme, the seasonings.
03:42 Now we're going to go in with about a cup of white wine.
03:44 You want to use a dry white.
03:45 You don't want anything sweet.
03:46 We're going to cook all that wine off.
03:48 So keep stirring.
03:49 Once that wine is completely evaporated, we can start the process of just finishing off
03:52 our risotto.
03:53 We're going to go in ladle by ladle.
03:54 We're going to get that stock and pumpkin mixture.
03:57 Once it's all completely stirred in, that's when you add the next one.
03:59 You know what?
04:00 I'm going to throw in a little bit of that pumpkin spice right now just to get that toasted
04:03 in.
04:04 It doesn't need much.
04:05 But instantly you smell that.
04:06 As soon as that hits the pan, it smells like fall.
04:08 It's what you need in this dish.
04:09 It's going to take it to the next level.
04:11 It's slight though.
04:12 It's not heavy.
04:13 You don't want it.
04:14 It's not a latte.
04:15 You're not making a pumpkin spice latte here, guys.
04:16 It's tiny.
04:17 It's a little bit.
04:18 So now that's all been absorbed, we go in with the next one.
04:19 And you keep this process going.
04:21 That's why it's nice to have hot stock because that hot stock is going to cook the rice as
04:24 it gets ladled in.
04:25 All right.
04:27 The risotto is done.
04:28 A good way to check for your risotto if you want to see, they call it the wave test.
04:32 If you can shake it, I'm not going to do it because I'm going to make a mess because this
04:35 thing isn't -- the handle's not long enough.
04:37 There you go.
04:38 There's the wave.
04:39 It just burned my f*cking hand.
04:41 And you can also just taste it.
04:43 There you go.
04:44 You want that rice to be cooked through.
04:46 You don't want crunchy rice.
04:47 Nice al dente rice.
04:48 Yeah, it's going to be hot.
04:53 It's going to be hot.
04:54 I'm going to bring this right here.
04:55 Remember that roasted squash or pumpkin if you have pumpkin, that works too.
04:59 We're going to take a few pieces of that.
05:02 Just chop it up.
05:04 It's still warm and then the risotto is nice and hot.
05:06 So it's going to just warm it through.
05:07 If you like a lot of the kind of chunky squash pieces, go do a bunch.
05:11 If you don't want any, you can stop right here.
05:13 You'll have a good risotto.
05:14 The things you remember too is salting it.
05:16 Risotto ends with about a half cup of Parmesan cheese.
05:19 So I'm going to wait to salt it until after the cheese.
05:21 Why?
05:22 Parmesan cheese is salty.
05:23 And you know what?
05:24 It's the holidays.
05:25 Don't worry about your health right now.
05:26 It's not the time.
05:27 We're going to add a little bit of butter.
05:29 It's a little bit of butter.
05:30 It's Thanksgiving, guys.
05:31 Come on.
05:32 That's it.
05:33 A tablespoon of butter.
05:34 Where do I keep putting my spoon?
05:35 Stir that all in.
05:36 Look at that.
05:37 Decadent, rich.
05:38 Oh my God, guys.
05:39 This is going to be good.
05:40 And you know what?
05:41 I just thought of something.
05:42 I just thought of an idea.
05:43 Cory's going to go what?
05:46 There's more?
05:47 I got to leave.
05:48 I got other things to film.
05:49 We're doing one more thing.
05:50 We're going to fry up some sage for a garnish.
05:51 Olive oil in a pan.
05:53 Sage leaves.
05:54 Look at this.
05:55 Sage has so many purposes.
05:56 You go into a spooky new house, get that sage, light it up, do this, do this, do this.
05:59 I like to cook with it, but if you want to get the devil away, hey, it might work.
06:04 Crispy fried sage.
06:05 Strain that on a towel.
06:06 All right.
06:07 We're going for a little taste here.
06:10 That is a phenomenal texture.
06:11 We're going to salt and pepper.
06:13 And also, you got to be careful when you're salting too.
06:16 See if your chicken stock has salt in it.
06:18 If you buy a store-bought, it might already be salted.
06:20 So that is a factor too.
06:21 Mine wasn't salted, so all the salt can come in now at the end.
06:25 Look at that color.
06:28 All optional.
06:29 Not necessary, but look at that.
06:32 See what that does?
06:33 See it brings that to life a little bit?
06:34 And I finished with a little bit more cheese on top, just a touch.
06:37 And then that fried sage.
06:39 Bam, bam.
06:40 And ladies and gentlemen, there you are, a pumpkin risotto.
06:45 It's not as intimidating as you think.
06:46 People go, "Risotto's so hard."
06:48 It ain't.
06:49 It's not that hard, guys.
06:50 You stand over it, you stir it, and you enjoy.
06:52 Guys, we'll be here for a lot more Thanksgiving videos.
06:54 I'll see you in the next one.
06:56 Peace.
06:57 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:02 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:03 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:04 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:05 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:06 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:07 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:08 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:09 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:10 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:11 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:12 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:13 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:14 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:15 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
07:16 I'm a private chef, cook for money, yeah.
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