Mark Moriarty’s Halloween recipe for pumpkin risotto with brown butter and sage

Sat Oct 31 2026 - 04:55

Serves: 2

Course: Dinner

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Prep Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 200g pumpkin, peeled and cut into small cubes
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 80ml chicken stock
• 50ml cream
• 50g butter
• Handful fresh sage leaves
• 2tbs olive oil
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 140g arborio rice
• 150ml white wine
• 650ml chicken stock
• 40g grated Parmesan
• Juice and zest 1 lemon
• Sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Place the peeled and cubed pumpkin on an oven tray and season well with salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven at 190 degrees for about 15 minutes until caramelised.
2. Remove the pumpkin pieces from the oven and place in a blender along with the chicken stock and cream. Blend to a purée then set aside.
3. To make the sage brown butter, add the butter to a nonstick pan and let it melt over a medium heat until it begins to brown. Then add the sage leaves and allow them to crisp up in the butter for one minute, then strain them on to some kitchen paper to remove excess butter and reserve the sage leaves for garnish.
4. Place a heavy-based saucepan on the heat and add the olive oil. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for two minutes without adding colour, then add in the rice. Cook over a medium heat for two minutes, then increase the heat and add the white wine.
5. Once the wine has reduced, start adding the stock, ladle by ladle, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next, and stirring regularly throughout.
6. When the risotto rice is just softened (it will take about 8-12 minutes after adding the wine), reduce the heat and fold through the pumpkin purée. Then add the Parmesan, lemon juice and zest and adjust the seasoning with some more salt/lemon juice.
7. Spoon the risotto into serving dishes and garnish with the crispy sage leaves

Mark Moriarty is an award winning chef, TV host, author and Irish Times columnist.

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