creamy, dreamy, delicious risotto

I’ve been wanting to make risotto for awhile now. Not just as a gluten free recipe (though it is a great, naturally gluten free recipe since rice is gluten free- thank goodness!!), but long before being gluten free ever entered my diet. I have to admit however, I was always incredibly intimidated by the thought of making risotto. Though at its heart, it is really a simple rice dish, in truth, it is one of the most delicious and complicated rice dishes you can make. There are just so many steps involved, that despite my desire to make (and eat) this delectable dish, I've shied away from it.

The other night, I decided it was finally time to face my fear. With fresh ingredients, and plenty of time devoted to dote on my rice, I went to work. What resulted, was nothing short of a culinary marvel. Now, I know that I make recipes all the time, and rave about them (because lets be honest, I really do love to cook and eat what I cook), but this really took it to a whole other level. Thanks to the spices, crisp white wine, sweet veggies, and savory stock that went into this dish, the flavors in my mouth were outstanding. 

Once I started cooking the risotto, I immediately got into my groove. I found out, that while a bit more tedious than traditional rice and stir fry dishes, making risotto was much less scary than I thought. For someone who likes to pay attention to her food while she cooks (and lets be honest, who sometimes enjoys order and repetition), it was like cooking risotto was made for me. I loved watching the ingredients transform over their 45 minutes of cooking (and hopefully you'll be able to enjoy them also through the photo documentation below). An amazing thing about this recipe is that the dish really took on every single one of the flavors of each of the ingredients added. They all worked harmoniously well together, but also each and every flavor came out as I was eating it. If you have 45 minutes to devote, I highly recommend trying this out. Invite some friends over and wow them, that is if you can stand sharing your delicious dinner.

risotto.

Brown Rice Sweet Potato Risotto

1 tsp olive oil (a good splash)

1 ½ small/medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into ¼ inch cubes

1 small onion, chopped

½ cup brown rice (I used short grain, it’s a little puffier than long grain)

1 cup vegetable stock

1 cup water

¼ cup white wine

A good sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder, nutmeg

2 tbsp parmesan cheese (A blend of parmesan, asiago, fontina, etc would work as well)

1 scallion chopped (optional)

the first steps...

adding liquid

creamy, dreamy, yum.

 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat

Add the onion to the pot, cooking for about 3 minutes until they start to soften

Add the sweet potatoes to the pot, and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and nutmeg

Cook onions and sweet potatoes for about 3 minutes before adding the rice, stirring together, and cooking for 2 minutes

Add the wine to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until all of the wine has been absorbed

Add the stock and water, alternating every other, and adding ¼ cup at a time. With each ¼ cup, stir and wait until the liquid has been absorbed, before adding the next

This entire process should take 30-35 minutes (be patient, it will cook, and it will be delicious)

Once all liquid has been absorbed (you can always continue to add more if your rice has not reached the consistency you want it, and still has a bite to it)

Stir the cheese into the risotto and top with scallion if desired

Enjoy!

the finished product, come over soon to eat some with me!