Sweet Potato Risotto

I don't remember ever seeing a sweet potato in Italy --pumpkin and squash yes but never a sweet potato that I recall. None the less I had a bowl full of sweets and needed a dinner idea. Tomorrow is my farmer's market day so the cupboard was a little bare. I spied arborio rice, cheese, butter and wine -- tonight's sweet potato risotto was born. I roasted the un-peeled potatoes in the oven for about an hour until the orange flesh was soft and tender. Then I started my usual risotto. In a pan with a mix of olive oil and butter went one chopped onion, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, a pinch of dried chiles, and some rubbed sage (I didn't have any fresh on hand). I stirred those around for 5 minutes or so and added in 1 1/2 cups of rice. When the rice was all coated with the butter and oil I added in about 1/2 cup of white wine. Then I started adding the simmering chicken broth in 1/2 cup ladles -- stirring after each addition and cooking until the liquid was nearly gone before adding the next. I kept that up for not quite 20 minutes until the rice was creamy and still a bit al dente. To finish I stirred in the flesh of two sweet potatoes, a bit more butter, a handful of grated parmesan, and some chopped parsley and cooked for another minute until the rice was tender.

American risotto.