Sweet Potato Risotto

The national tournament was held in Connecticut this year, about 45 minutes outside of New York City. While there, I was able to go to the Risottoria restaurant. They had some of the best food I have ever eaten. After talking to a friend about making risotto, I decided to try it myself.

One ingredient common to most risotto recipes I've looked at is Arborio rice. I'm sure you find this hard to believe, but I didn't find Arborio rice at the store here in Powell. So, I just used long grain brown rice instead. I based this recipe on one for Butternut Squash Risotto I found at Cooks.com.

Sweet Potato Risotto

• 1 medium sweet potato, or two smaller ones
• 1 cup Arborio Rice, or long-grain brown rice
• 3 cups chicken broth, warmed
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or white cooking wine

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 2-4 chunks. Boil it until soft enough to mash.  Mash it fairly thoroughly with a fork or potato masher. You can see that in the picture at the top.

In another large saucepan heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly. Add the wine to the rice and cook until wine is nearly all absorbed. If you are using regular wine, pour yourself a glass.

Stir in a cup of chicken stock and the mashed sweet potatoes. Simmer until the stock is nearly all absorbed. I used powdered chicken stock and water. I boiled a cup of water in the microwave, added the chicken stock, stirred it up, and then added it to the rice. Continue adding a cup or so of chicken stock at a time until the rice is creamy but still firm.

At this point you can serve it as is, and it's pretty good. You might add some cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and it will be sort of like rice pudding, which makes it even better.