Roasted Sweet Potato Risotto

I enjoy sweet potatoes throughout all four seasons, but find myself craving the orange-fleshed root vegetable with particular intensity during autumn. If you ask me, roasting is the ideal cooking method for achieving perfectly sweet, slightly caramelized pieces of sweet potato.

Another food I seek during cool evenings is warm, creamy, and comforting risotto. A bit time-consuming, but not as labor-intensive as it’s reputation suggests, risotto is an impressive one-pot meal that is sure to satisfy everyone at your dinner table. I love to experiment with various ingredient additions, and the combination of flavors in this recipe was a definite success.

Roasted Sweet Potato Risotto

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces
olive oil cooking spray
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 – 14 ounce can vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 ounce goat cheese
1 fresh sage leaf, minced (or more if you prefer)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat the sweet potato pieces with olive oil cooking spray and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
Roast sweet potatoes for 30 minutes, stirring once. Set aside.
Combine the broth and water in a small saucepan over low heat.
Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic to saucepan, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add rice and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the onion and garlic, and saute for 1 minute.
Pour in the wine, and cook until it is absorbed into the rice, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in 1/2 cup of the broth/water mixture, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Lower heat to medium/medium-high.
Add remaining broth/water, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of liquid is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total).
Add the roasted sweet potato, goat cheese, and minced sage. Stir to combine and serve.