SILKY COCONUT PUMPKIN RISOTTO

Yes, this is a post-Thanksgiving wrap-up piece.





Yes, I am running a touch behind.





Stay tuned, as next week I'll demonstrate how to turn leftover July 4th lemonade into a velvety sauce to pour over pound cake.





*Sigh*

I served appetizer portions of this Silky Coconut Pumpkin Soup (recipe from Epicurious) on Thanksgiving. I puree the soup and serve it in shot glasses as an amuse bouche. It's one of those recipes that I have to make in a double batch. The reason is that I can't stop tasting...tasting...tasting...while It's simmering away in the pot. If I don't start with a double batch I won't have enough left to serve. This is happy stuff! Even people who don't generally care for the taste of pumpkin are wooed into a second helping of this soup.

Two days after the thanksgiving plates had been cleared we hit the "I-refuse-to-eat-any-more-Thanksgiving-leftovers" wall. However, I still had a touch more soup in the refrigerator. I grabbed my box of Arborio rice and Silky Coconut Pumpkin Risotto was born!

Finished risotto will be creamier than in this photo, which was taken after risotto had cooled and started to firm up. What can I say, I wanted to eat it--not photograph it!

SILKY COCONUT PUMPKIN RISOTTO

12 oz Arborio rice
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 TBS olive oil
few splashes of white wine (optional)
2 cups heated chicken stock (plus a touch additional)
2 cups heated Silky Coconut Pumpkin Risotto (from leftovers)
fresh cracked pepper

Heat olive oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until onions soften. Add rice and a few splashes of white wine if desired. Continue to cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully add about 1 cup of heated stock to pan. Simmer gently and stir until stock is absorbed. Add 1 more cup of stock to pot, cook in same manner until stock is absorbed. Repeat procedure using soup, 1 cup at a time. If risotto is too firm to the bite, continue to add small amounts of either chicken stock or soup until rice is creamy. Add pepper to taste and serve hot.