Fall Vegetable Risotto

Risotto is one of those dishes that I always heard was difficult to make, so I never attempted it. Then my sister made it for me once and I KNEW I needed to learn how to make it. And guess what? It's SO easy. I think the one hang up people have with it is that it's one of those dishes that requires you to always keep an eye on it. But seriously, unless your kitchen is GINORMOUS this seriously shouldn't be an obstacle in putting this into your regular rotation.

Risotto is made with a special variety of rice that's rounder in shape and has a high starch content. The most common is Arborio and that is what I typically use. Arborio rice is a more expensive but I feel it is well worth it when it makes such a beautifully delicious dish like this.

To get the most flavor into the risotto I recommend using a stock as your cooking liquid rather than water. (But water can most definitely be used in a pinch) I obviously use vegetable stock here, but chicken or beef would work well too. For the first addition of cooking liquid to deglaze the pan, I like to add something sweet like apple juice or apple cider. I think it just adds a nice flavor to the dish. And the beauty of risotto is that the possibilities are endless as far as what you add to it. In this recipe I have opted to add shiitake mushrooms, sweet potato, onion and kale. But in the past I've also done peas, asparagus, spinach...the possibilities are endless.

This really is one of our favorites and I hope you enjoy it too!

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Fall Vegetable Risotto 
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Servings: 4-6

Note: For best result and for quicker cooking time, it is recommended that you have your cooking liquid heated up. But in my experience room temperature works just fine as well. Just make sure your liquid is not cold. This will slow down the cooking process and cool down the dish every time liquid is added. 

2 TB olive oil
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 TB butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
1 cup arborio rice, uncooked
1 cup apple juice or apple cider
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups chopped kale
salt and pepper to taste

• In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and sweet potato, cooking until sweet potato is browned and cooked through. This may take 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your sweet potato. 
• Remove sweet potato from pan and set aside. 
• Melt butter over medium heat and add onion and mushrooms to pan. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until onion is translucent.
• Add dried arborio rice to the pan and saute or "toast" the grains for 1minute. 
• Deglaze pan with 1 cup of apple juice or cider, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. Stir frequently and cook until almost all the liquid is cooked off. 
• Add 1 cup of broth to the pan, or enough to cover the rice, stirring frequently until almost all the liquid is absorbed.
• Repeat the above process until the rice is cooked through. I find this takes 3-4 times or roughly 4 cups of broth. 
• When rice is cooked through, add parmesan cheese, kale and salt and pepper, stirring until kale is cooked and wilted down. 
• Serve warm with extra parmesan on top