Happy New Year of Food, everyone! Well, it’s 2020, and I have neglected this blog for too long due to travelling and other family issues. We lost my brother in October last year which made for a very heavy end to the year. Also one which highlighted health and well-being in everyone’s mind.

With that in mind, I’m going to start with something simple, nutritious, and good for anyone with digestive issues – Sweet Potato Risotto.

My love affair for risotto started many years ago as a teen, but I thought then it was out of reach in terms of the kitchen as all top TV chefs told me so. Until I mentioned it to my teacher of Italian, of Italian background herself. She put me right on the whole risotto lie and told me it’s really quite simple and a rustic meal that restaurants were trying to upsell by making it seem more complicated than it is. I have to say after years of cooking risotto now and also eating authentic risotto in Italy, that she was absolutely right.

The ‘secret’ (it’s no secret at all, really) is to not overthink it. After the initial prep, once your rice is nicely coated in the olive oil and starting to heat up, you add one cup of the liquid, stir briefly, then leave it alone! That’s right. Leave the poor thing alone! No constant stirring, no watching over the pan. Instead, keep your ears open – you will hear the risotto beckoning you back for more liquid and so you repeat the same process. For two cups of rice, you will do this 3 times, while for 1-1 1/2 cups, you’ll do it twice. Easy, huh? Try it and you’ll see.

So, why risotto? First of all, it’s rice based (that ticks off gluten free, wheat free, potato free, egg free…) which is easier to digest than, say, pasta. Secondly, it helps soothe the digestive tract with its smoothness and wholesome goodness, feeling almost as if it gives your digestive tract a nice protective hug all the way down to your gut. If you also suffer from Barrett’s or severe reflux, you’ll get what I’m talking about. Thirdly, it is so versatile to so many different flavour variations. In Italy, I had almost every colour risotto under the sun as my gluten and dairy free alternative to what everyone else was having, and I found most chefs really considerate and accommodating to my needs. Now, I’ve experimented a LOT – if you follow my Instagram @EdKent77 you’ll have a fair idea of some of the variety I’ve experimented with.

Tonight’s offering: Sweet Potato.

This is a starch I found my body can handle really well and which can be used in sweet or savoury dishes. It can also be used in baking and making custards and other really yummy alternatives, but hopefully I can add some of those at a later date. Of course, if there’s a request, I’ll do my best to accommodate it as well; just comment below.

Anyway, on to the recipe that will change your mind and opinion of eating with digestive health in mind.

Sweet Potato Risotto

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups medium grain white rice, or if you want better quality absorption, try arborio
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 medium sweet potato – peeled, chopped, boiled and mashed (I like the new frozen stuff you just add a spoonful of water to it and then heat as per package instructions)
• 1/2 cup peas (frozen works well here)
• 1 tsp mace or nutmeg (I find mace a little less intense so halve the quantity for nutmeg)
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves (if you prefer fresh, double the quantities for the herbs)
• Freshly ground pepper – I use a mix of white, pink and black peppercorns which seems to work really well in this recipe.

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a fry pan large enough to cope with the amount of risotto you’ll be cooking – my pan pictured above is about 20 cm diameter.
2. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, then add the garlic. You don’t want the garlic cooking alongside the onion as it’ll brown and burn really quickly, so add it After you’ve achieved translucency with your onions.
3. Immediately upon adding the garlic, pour your rice in, spreading it around the pan evenly. Take your wooden spoon and stir those little granules to coat them in the onion and garlic flavoured oil – the grains should start to look a little translucent, too.
4. Once your rice gains are nice and glossy, time to add your first cup and a bit of stock and stir well to ensure all rice is submerged and not stuck on the bottom of the pan – make sure you add enough stock to cover your rice, otherwise you’ll be hanging around a lot more adding liquid every half a minute or so. Add your mashed sweet potato, peas, and your herbs and stir well before leaving it to simmer away. Don’t go too far, stay within hearing distance.
5. When you hear the risotto start making a different noise (it starts to crackle a little after about 5 minutes) it’s your sign to give it some more liquid and a good stir, so go ahead with a second cup of stock and leave as before.
6. It’ll be a little quicker this time around but you’ll hear the tell-tale call of your risotto, so tend to it by adding the final cup of stock and stirring well before leaving it to finish cooking the rice completely – about 2 minutes or so, give or take. Always taste test your risotto to ensure the grains are fully cooked, but you don’t want them to go to mush. You’re after a nice al dente bite to the grains so that each individual grain is still there to savour.
7. Take the pan off the heat, season with the cracked pepper (and salt if your stock is not seasoned), and a drizzle of olive oil, and serve. Buon appetito!

Notes:

• Depending on your appetite and whether this is a main or entree, this can serve between two and four people.

• My stove top has gas burners. Please adjust your cooking times according to your equipment. NEVER leave the cooking risotto completely unattended, you should be in and around the kitchen at all times, but not WATCHING the pan constantly. This gives you time to prep other dishes/courses or to chat with friends over a drink at the kitchen counter.