Pumkpin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls

I was doing some preliminary googling for Platinum Chef Challenge #7*, and stumbled (no, I don't know how, given the ingredients) across this website with a recipe for pumpkin and goat cheese croquettes with maple mascarpone sauce. I immediately thought about twisting the recipe into risotto balls, since I'd seen them here and had them on my list of things to try.

These were amazing! I was a little light on seasoning, so I've increased that in the final recipe here.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls
For the risotto:
~1/2 of 15 ounce can Pumpkin
~1/4 cup minced shallot (prefered, I didn't have it so I used white onion)
~2 Tbsp butter
~drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
~1 cup arborio rice (about 200 grams)
~2 tsp dried sage
~3/4 cup dry white wine
~1 quart low sodium chicken broth
~1/4 cup goat cheese

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the butter in a saucepan. Add the minced shallot, cook until tender. Add the pumpkin and sage, stir to combine with the shallot.
3. At this point the butter will be gone, push aside the pumpkin and add a drizzle of oil to the pan. Add the rice, coating it with the oil. Toast the rice, while stirring, about 2 minutes, then combine with the pumpkin/shallot mixture.
4. Add the wine, stirring to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly with each addition until broth is absorbed. When finished, the rice should be tender, but firm to the bite.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the goat cheese and remaining 1 Tbsp of butter.

You can save all of it for risotto balls, or reserve 2 cups of risotto and eat the rest. :-) The remainder of the recipe is based on 2 cups of risotto.

For the risotto balls:
~2 cups risotto, chilled
~2 eggs, lighty whisked
~1/2 cup panko (I ended up using breadcrumbs because I was low on panko and wanted it for rolling)
~3 or so ounces of goat cheese, cut into small squares
~additional 1 cup panko or breadcrumbs for rolling
~1 tsp dried sage
~oil for pan frying

1. Combine the risotto, eggs, and 1/2 cup panko. In a separate bowl, combine the 1 cup panko and sage, for rolling.
2. Form a ball in your hand with a scoop of risotto, indent it in the middle and place a piece of goat cheese there. Wrap the risotto around the cheese to close it up into a ball, and roll in the panko/sage mixture. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet (or other tray). (I got about 11 LARGE risotto balls out of this.)
3. Chill in a refrigerator (I'd say at least an hour, I had them in there for over 2 hours).
4. Heat oil in a sautepan (I just used enough to liberally cover the bottom), and fry risotto balls until golden brown on each side. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Drain on papertowels and sprinkle with salt.

For the mascarpone sauce:
~1/2 cup mascarpone
~1/4 cup heavy cream
~1.5 tbsp maple syrup

1. Stir to combine mascarpone, cream, and syrup. This is half the original recipe, and found it to be a good amount for the 11 risotto balls that I made (plus, I only had 1/2 cup of mascarpone left). :-)


*I have it as #7 in my book, and if I make this one #6 I will have two #6s and that bothers me!