Healthy Risotto

Lately, one of my favourite pastimes is patting myself on the back for a job well done, and here I go again with the creation of the world’s healthiest (and tastiest) risotto.

This culinary discovery happened like most of my recipe innovations: an overindulgent weekend leads to a remorseful Monday, and I buy way too many vegetables. Then, terrified by the prospect of having them go bad before their time, I marry them together and cook them up in myriad ways.

This week’s victims? Sweet potatoes and broccoli.

What do to with them? A colourful, autumnal risotto.

Phew — dodged that bullet!

Here’s my recipe.

Sweet Potato & Roasted Broccoli Risotto

(serves 4)

Broccoli
1 bunch fresh broccoli, cleaned, dried; the stem cut into rounds, the florets cut bite-sized
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Risotto
1 medium sweet potato
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 cooking onion, chopped
1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup vermouth or dry white wine
4 cups hot vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400°F.

Step 2: On a cookie sheet, toss prepped broccoli in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Step 3: Scrub the sweet potato clean, poke a few times with a fork, then microwave for about 5 minutes, or until fully cooked and soft. Remove from peel, mash innards in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 4: In a heavy pot, heat butter and oil together. Add chopped onion and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, then stir in rice, coating with butter mixture. Deglaze with vermouth.

Step 5: Have stock simmering on the stove for easy access. Add a cup of warm stock to the rice, stir, bring to a boil and let it absorb. Stir in the sweet potato. Keep adding about a 1/2 cup of stock at a time, letting the liquid evaporate each time, until the four cups of stock have been used. Stir, stir, stir! From start to finish this process will take about 22-25 minutes.

Step 6: Keeping the risotto on low, stir in the cheese and the cooked stalk rounds of the broccoli. Dish it out and top with a few of the roasted florets. Season with pepper and maybe a little extra Parmesan.

Click here for more easy risotto recipes.

Photo credits:
1-2. Amy Rosen