Chopped Challenge #3

So as Megan mentioned, our fall-ish ingredients of pumpkin, eggs, nut butter, and chia seeds led us all in a fairly similar direction (apart from her sweet extra credit 😉).  I went with a pumpkin risotto topped with a fried egg, tomato chia jam, bacon crumbles, and a drizzle of smoked paprika almond butter. I wasn’t quite sure it would all come together, and it’s certainly not the prettiest dish, but it was actually really yummy!  I didn’t do too much tweaking this week, just brought together 3 different recipes.



Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon

INGREDIENTS

•  4 slices thick center cut no nitrates bacon, chopped
•  1/2 onion, chopped
•  2 cloves garlic, minced
•  1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
•  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•  1 cup arborio rice
•  2 3/4 cups homemade vegetable stock or store bought
•  1 cup homemade pumpkin puree or store bought*
•  1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
•  Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot. Add the bacon and cook for 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.
2. Add the onion to the bacon grease in the pot and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
3. Add the sage, nutmeg, arborio rice, vegetable stock and pumpkin to the Instant Pot and stir until combined.
4. Secure the lid and close the venting valve. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes. The Instant Pot will take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure, then will begin the cooking time. Quick release the pressure when the cooking time has finished.
5. Remove the lid and stir in the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Serve immediately topped with the crumbled bacon and chopped parsley. Enjoy!

NOTES

• Fresh pumpkin puree makes a big difference in this dish. The prep time for this recipe does not include the prep for homemade pumpkin puree as that is included in a separate recipe.  There's no need to purée the pumpkin in a food processor or strain the excess liquid from it.  Just mash with a potato masher or fork and add it to the risotto!  Small chunks of pumpkin are totally fine in this dish.

• Make homemade pumpkin puree in advance to make this risotto go very quickly!
• Omit the bacon to make this pumpkin risotto vegetarian and top with toasted pepitas!

Tomato Chia Seed Jam

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup finely chopped onion (from about 1/4 large onion)
• 1 teaspoon oil (I used extra virgin olive)
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped and their juices (use grape, Roma or vine tomatoes)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
• Sprinkle of salt
• 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat cook the onions until very translucent in the oil.
2. Add the diced tomatoes, sugar, salt and vinegar and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and then reduce heat and simmer.
3. Let tomatoes simmer for 30-35 minutes, until most of the liquid has reduced.
4. Remove from heat and stir in chia seeds. Allow mixture to cool slightly and thicken before serving or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Smoked Paprika Almond Butter

• 1.5c raw almonds [~1c raw almond butter]
• 1/4-1/2t salt
• 1-1.5t smoked paprika
• ground black pepper [about 10 cranks]
• 1/3t garlic powder
• 2t honey

1. Set your oven to 325* and roast almonds, on a pan, in a single layer.  This should take about 15min, stirring 1-2x, until golden brown. 
2. Let cool 5min 
3. Add to your food processor and process until drippy, scraping the bowl as needed.  This should take between 6-10min.  Oil should not be necessary. 
4. Add in salt, smoked paprika, black pepper and garlic powder. 
5. Process and scrape as needed, until well combined and drippy. 
6. Taste and add more seasoning to your liking. 
7. Add in the honey and process again until smooth.