Chardonnay Day Pairing: Pumpkin Risotto, Burnt Butter

Pumpkin Risotto, Burnt Butter, and a Reason to Open the Chardonnay

Wednesday 21 May is National Chardonnay Day, and we're celebrating it our way: with a free bottle of Chardonnay in every order placed today.

But a free bottle is only half the gift. The other half is knowing what to cook with it.

The wine

The 2025 Grass Roots Chardonnay does the simple things well. Certified organic. Vegan. Pale straw with delicate green hues. White peach and citrus flowers on the nose, layered with toasty vanillin oak underneath. The palate is where it earns its keep: fresh stone fruit, a creamy lees-derived texture, lifted by cool-climate acidity that stops the whole thing from getting heavy.

Oak and lees give you weight and warmth. Acid keeps it bright. That combination is the entire reason this pairing works.

The pairing: pumpkin risotto and sage burnt butter

Roasted pumpkin risotto, finished with sage burnt butter, half the pumpkin mashed through and half scattered on top.

Here is what each element is doing.

Pumpkin matches the wine's stone-fruit weight. Both are soft, ripe, gently sweet. Neither overpowers the other. Splitting it between mashed and roasted gives you two textures in the same bowl: silk through the rice, caramelised edges on top.

Burnt butter is the hinge. When butter browns it develops the same toasty, nutty, caramelised notes you taste in the oak and lees on the Chardonnay. The wine and the dish meet in the middle.

Sage in the burnt butter does two jobs at once. The leaves crisp up as the butter browns, giving you a herbal lift and a textural snap, while the sage perfumes the butter itself. Parmesan folded through the risotto handles the salt and umami the wine's acidity slices through.

Cook the risotto in the Chardonnay. A splash into the pan at the rice-toasting stage. The rest of the bottle into your glass.

The recipe

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 kg pumpkin, peeled and diced into 2 cm cubes
• 4 garlic cloves, skin on, lightly bashed (for roasting)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt
• 1.5 litres good vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 brown onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (for the risotto base)
• 320 g arborio rice
• 200 ml Grass Roots Chardonnay
• 60 g cold butter, cubed
• 80 g butter, for the burnt butter
• 20 fresh sage leaves, larger ones torn in half
• 100 g parmesan, finely grated
• White pepper to finish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Toss the diced pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Spread in a single layer on a baking tray and tuck in the bashed garlic cloves. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning halfway, until the edges are caramelised and the centres are soft. Squeeze the soft garlic flesh out of the skins. Take half the pumpkin, combine with the roasted garlic flesh, and mash with a fork. Set both the mash and the remaining roasted cubes aside.
2. Warm the stock in a saucepan over low heat. Keep it gently simmering throughout the cook. Cold stock added to a hot risotto stalls the cooking process, so the warm pot matters.
3. In a wide, heavy-based pan, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion with a small pinch of salt and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Tip in the arborio rice. Stir constantly for 2 minutes, until the grains are coated, glossy and starting to smell nutty. This step matters. It locks in the rice's structure so it stays al dente at the end.
5. Pour in the Chardonnay. It should hiss and steam. Stir until the wine is fully absorbed, about 2 minutes.
6. Begin adding the warm stock one ladle at a time. Stir often, and let each ladle absorb almost completely before adding the next. Keep the heat at a steady medium. Do not rush it. The whole stock-adding process should take 18 to 22 minutes.
7. While the risotto cooks, make the sage burnt butter. Place the 80 g of butter in a small light-coloured pan (so you can see the colour change) over medium heat. Once it starts to foam, drop in the sage leaves. Swirl gently. After 3 to 4 minutes the milk solids will turn deep golden brown, the butter will smell like toasted hazelnuts, and the sage will be crisp. Pull it off the heat immediately and pour into a small bowl to stop it cooking further.
8. Test the rice when most of the stock is in. It should be tender with the faintest bite at the centre. If it needs more time, add another half ladle. When it's ready, pull the pan off the heat.
9. Fold through the mashed pumpkin and garlic, two-thirds of the grated parmesan, and the cold cubed butter. Season with white pepper to taste. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds. This is the mantecatura, the step that gives the risotto its glossy, creamy finish. Cover and rest for 2 minutes.
10. Spoon into shallow bowls. Top with the reserved roasted pumpkin cubes and the remaining parmesan. Drizzle generously with the sage burnt butter, distributing the crispy leaves across the bowls.

Pour the Chardonnay slightly cool, not cold. Around 10 to 12 degrees lets the oak and stone fruit come through properly.

The offer

Shop now, place any order on Thursday 21 May and we'll add a free bottle of Chardonnay to your box. One day only.

Cook the risotto. Open the bottle. Tell us what you think.

The Tamburlaine Team