Sweet Potato Risotto
Sweet potatoes don’t actually exist in Italy, so this isn’t really a traditional Italian recipe. However, I love sweet potatoes and at the end of the day it’s still a risotto made in the standard Italian way – and it tastes great. As usual with any risotto it’s the perfect thing to make too much of because it tastes great for days afterwards, and I always like making myself a couple of extra meals for the week so that if I’m feeling lazy I can still eat something tasty.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 400g risotto rice
- 6 smallish sweet potatoes
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp vegetable stock powder (or whatever equivalent)
- splash of white wine
- fresh rosemary
- salt
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
Preparation (40 minutes)
Slice half the onion into long, thin slices and throw in a pan on minimum heat with some olive oil and the garlic, chopped in large pieces. Chop up the potatoes into small (1-2cm) cubes, and add to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium high, add some fresh rosemary and salt, and continuously stir to make sure nothing gets burned. After about 15-20 minutes, the potatoes should be ready, although it also depends on how crispy you like them. In the meantime, fill a kettle with water and boil the water. When the potatoes are ready, put a large pot on high heat, add some olive oil and the rest of the onion, and stir until the onions are turning brown. Then add the rice, and stir everything constantly for 2 minutes. Now turn the heat up as far as it will go and add a splash of white wine. Let it all evaporate while stirring, then add the potatoes. Stir everything together, then add about 200ml of boiling water from the kettle. Add a nice amount of salt as well as the stock powder, and keep stirring. When the water has evaporated almost completely, add some more water and keep stirring. Continue this process until the rice is cooked (should take 10-20 minutes) – check by tasting the rice every once in a while after about 10 minutes. Once it’s ready, take it off the heat and add the nutritional yeast, stir one last time and serve steaming hot!