Chicken and Pumpkin Risotto

5 from 2 votes

Creamy chicken and pumpkin risotto made with roasted pumpkin purée, tender pumpkin cubes, cooked chicken, Parmesan, and fresh dill.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 678kcal

Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roast the pumpkin: Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Place the halves cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 40–50 minutes or until fork-tender. Let the pumpkin cool until you can handle it.
1 small cooking pumpkin
Prepare the pumpkin: Remove the peel unless you are using Hokkaido pumpkin. Measure 1 lb/450 g of roasted flesh. Purée half and cut the remaining half into bite-sized cubes. Set both aside.

Heat the stock: Pour the chicken stock into a small saucepan and keep it hot over very low heat while cooking the risotto.
5 cups chicken stock
Sauté the onion: Heat the olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven. Cook the finely chopped onion until translucent.
2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 small onion
Add the rice: Stir in the unwashed risotto rice and cook for about two minutes until the grains are coated with oil. Add the white wine and let it bubble away.
1 ¾ cups risotto rice + ½ cup white wine
Cook the risotto: Add the hot stock gradually, about ½–1 cup at a time, stirring regularly. Wait until most of the liquid has been absorbed before adding more. Cook for 15–20 minutes or until the rice is tender but still retains a little bite.
5 cups chicken stock
Finish the risotto: Stir in the pumpkin purée, cooked chicken, butter, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. Fold in the pumpkin cubes and dill carefully.
pumpkin puree + ¾ lb cooked chicken breasts + 2 tablespoons butter + 1 cup Parmesan + a few gratings of nutmeg + fine sea salt and ground black pepper + pumpkin cubes + 2 tablespoons dill
Rest: Let the risotto stand for about five minutes before serving.

Pumpkin: Use Hokkaido or red Kuri squash, sugar pumpkin, or butternut squash. You need 1 lb/450 g of roasted pumpkin flesh. Roast enough pumpkin to obtain this amount; in my case, it was about half a pumpkin. Hokkaido does not need peeling, but remove the peel from other varieties.
Cooked chicken breast or thighs (shredded or chopped). Rotisserie chicken is also great. Or substitute with turkey.
Cook fresh chicken: Cut ¾ lb (350 g) chicken breast into cubes or strips. Toss them with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and cook the chicken until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan, cook the risotto, and add the cooked chicken at the end.
Parmesan: One lightly packed cup of freshly grated Parmesan weighs approximately 2 oz/60 g. If using pre-grated Parmesan, use only ½–¾ cup because it has less volume than freshly grated cheese.