Sweet Potato Risotto

October 30th, 2008

I am still alive.  When my co-workers start mentioning that my blog is going stale, crusty and moldy then I know it is way past time to update!  I haven’t really stopped cooking, and in fact there was much that I wanted to share on here but the effort required was too much for me at the time!  I think it’s called laziness.  Well after a little persuasion I decided to post last night’s dinner — Sweet Potato Risotto.

This dish turned out a little more orange than I would have liked, probably due to the fact that I used previously “blanched” (as Rachel corrected me) Stahlbush Island Farms Sweet Potato instead of raw. Nonetheless, I saved myself some chopping! ;-)  In the past when I’ve made risotto it used a chicken broth, but this one used a little wine and mostly water, leading me to believe it might not be as flavorful.  I was fooled because this one was full of flavor — onions, garlic, wine, fresh oregano, pungent cheese, and sweet potato!  This creamy, quick dish was great!  (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I got this recipe from “Real Simple Magazine” November 2008.)  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped (I think 1/2 large onion was plenty)
• Fine salt and pepper
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (or just use a bag of Stahlbush Island Farms pre-cubed sweet potato pieces)
• 2-6 cloves garlic, chopped (I used the larger amount because 2 cloves just doesn’t cut it for me!)
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino Romano)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (I still have a ton in my garden and I used WAY more than 2 teaspoons!)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the chopped onion, dash of salt and two dashes of pepper
3. Cook and stir until soft
4. Add the sweet potato and garlic then stir for about two minutes
5. Add the rice and cook for about another two minutes, stirring occasionally
6. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently until it is completely absorbed
7. Now, add 3/4 cup of water at a time stir frequently and wait until each addition is absorbed completely (5 to 10 minutes) before adding another measure.  Check after each addition so you don’t add too much water.  I used 3 measures or 2 and 1/2 cups of water.
8. Stir in the cheese and oregano and serve (perhaps with a glass of the wine you used in the recipe and some baked winter squash)!

I hope you enjoy it!