Sweet Potato and Pine Nut Risotto

Below is a recipe that I created a few weeks ago while in my vegetarian cuisine lab at school. Each week we are all assigned a component of the meal and we need to create a recipe based on that and what our lecture and demo are on that day. Right before break our lecture and demo were on fruits and nuts and I was assigned the entrée portion of the meal. One thing I really love about this class is that we have the freedom to create recipes each week instead of being handed a recipe and asked to make it, or our twist on it. It took me a little while to figure out what I wanted to make that I could incorporate fruits and nuts in it.

I decided to start with my favorite “blank canvas”…a risotto! The idea just grew from there. I looked around the kitchen saw some golden raisins, pine nuts (one of my favorite nuts), baby spinach, and sweet potatoes (another favorite of mine!). I didn’t want the risotto to turn out sweet (because of the raisins), so I added a bit of cinnamon and grated Gruyere cheese instead of the traditional Parmesan cheese.

My chef and class really enjoyed the flavor combination and I can’t wait to make this again. Hope you all enjoy it.

Sweet Potato and Pine Nut Risotto

A hearty risotto with sweet potatoes, pine nuts, golden raisins, and spinach, a savory dish with a hint of sweetness.

Yield: 3 cups      Serving Size:  ½ cup     Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

• Vegetable Stock                                                                4 cups
• Sweet Potato, brunoise                                                     4 ounces
• Shallot, fine brunoise                                                         2 teaspoons
• Garlic, fine brunoise                                                           2 teaspoons
• Olive Oil, divided                                                                4 tablespoons
• Cinnamon, ground                                                             1/8 teaspoon
• Ginger, grated                                                                     ¼ teaspoon
• Arborio Rice                                                                        1 cup
• Pine Nuts, toasted                                                               ¼ cup
• Golden Raisins                                                                    ¼ cup
• Spinach, fresh                                                                      ½ cup
• Wine, white                                                                           ¼ cup
• Pepper, white                                                                       1/8 teaspoon
• Gruyere cheese, grated                                                        ¼ – ½ cup
• Parsley, chopped                                                                  1 tablespoon

Method of Preparation

• Gather all ingredients and equipment.
• Heat vegetable stock in a medium pot to a simmer, then lower heat to keep warm.
• Wash and peel the sweet potato, then wash again.
• Brunoise the sweet potato and set aside.
• Peel the shallot and garlic. Cut brunoise and set aside.
• In a large, heavy bottom skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add brunoise sweet potatoes and cook until lightly browned.
• Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with cinnamon and toss to coat. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel to remove any excess oil.
• In the same skillet add the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
• Add shallots and cook for two minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute.
• Add rice and stir to evenly coat with oil. Cook for one minute, until there is a slight nutty aroma, you do not want the rice to brown.
• Add 1 cup of stock to rice and stir constantly until almost absorbed.
• When the stock is almost absorbed, add an additional cup of stock. Repeat until the grains of rice are tender with a slight bite to them. About 20 minutes.
• Add pine nuts, raisins, spinach, sweet potatoes, and wine. Stir until evenly incorporated and spinach has wilted.
• Season with pepper and stir to incorporate evenly.
• Remove from heat and add in cheese. Stir well.
• Add parsley, and stir to incorporate.
• Serve immediately.

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