Pairing Wine with Pumpkin
Posted by Everything Pumpkin on October 10, 2011
A few years back I took a wine and food pairing class at the French Culinary Institute in NY with Andrea Immer. Andrea’s delightful approach made learning about wines fun and inspiring.
What wine do you pair with pumpkin? Since pumpkin can be bridged with sweet and savory dishes, from hearty meats, pastas and lighter cheeses, it can be paired with a variety of wines, which is a mixed blessing: there is no “go-to” wine for pumpkin as there is for other foods. How the pumpkin is used and how it relates to other items in the dish will determine what wine will bring out its own flavors.
For example, pumpkin risotto is a rich dish and needs a high acidity wine to clean and freshen the mouth between bites. Sparkling wines are a nice choice because they are typically high in acid already, and the bubbles reinforce that refreshing character. My personal go to white wine is a nice crisp California Sauvignon Blanc to compliment this delightful dish.
PUMPKIN and CORN RISOTTO
2 tbsp. clarified butter
1 cup sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. toasted, seeded and minced chile arbol
3/4 cup peeled, roasted and diced pumpkin
3/4 cup peeled, diced and blanched russet potatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated, dried monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup dried wild mushrooms
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely bias-cut green onion
1/2 cup shaved, dried monterey jack cheese
Heat the clarified butter in a heavy pan over moderately high heat and saute the corn, yellow onion, garlic and chile arbol until tender. Add the pumpkin and potatoes and lightly brown them. Add the cream and grated cheese, and then simmer for 3 minutes. Add the wild dried mushrooms to the pumpkin-potato mixture and warm. Season to taste and finish the dish by stirring in the green onions. Spoon the “risotto” into four shallow, wide-rimmed soup bowls, top with the shaved cheese and serve.
This recipe is a wonderful fall dish from Executive Chef, Robert McGrath’s cookbook “American Western Cooking” (I am lucky to have a signed copy given to me on Valentine’s Day)
Great websites to guide you with wine pairing recommendations are www.matchmywine.com and http://wineintro.com/food/menu/. You can also Ask Andrea at www.andreaimmer.com
Anonymous said
Where is the Risotto made in this recipe?
Anonymous said
Although typically made with a short grained rice, risotto style dishes can also be made using ingredients such as barley, potatoes, pumpkin, yams and sweet potatoes.