One meal, two ways: Family-friendly sweet potato risotto recipe

Risotto is one of those magical dishes that is versatile enough to please kids and adults with only a few variants to the recipe. And contrary to what you’ve heard, it’s easy to make; as long as you follow a couple of simple steps.

This risotto recipe is made with a chicken and sweet potato stock – the rice cooked slowly to create a creamy, unctuous texture. The adult’s dish is served with fried king prawns and rocket while the kids get extra cubed sweet potato and spinach. A perfect dish for the family all year round, especially because sweet potatoes are not a seasonal vegetable. They are in good supply all year long.

Sweet potato risotto recipe

Serves 2 adults + 2 kids

Ingredients

• 1 litre chicken stock
• 500g sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 300g Arborio rice
• ½ brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• splash white wine vinegar
• sea salt and cracked black pepper, to season

For the grown-ups

• 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
• 4 large king prawns, peeled and deveined
• 30g parmesan cheese, grated plus more for serving
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 handful rocket leaves

For the kids

• 4 tbsp Colby cheese, grated
• 1 handful spinach leaves, shredded

Method

Step 1: Place the diced sweet potato into a saucepan over low heat and add the chicken stock. Cover and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Grab a slotted spoon and remove about ¼ of the cooked sweet potato and set it aside in a bowl for the kids’ meal. Blitz the remaining sweet potato in the stock with a hand blender ensuring there are no big lumps.

Step 2: Heat ½ olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat and add the onions and garlic. Sweat the onions, stirring constantly, until they are soft but not coloured.

Step 3: Add the rice and continue to stir, cooking until the edges of the grains have become translucent. Add the white wine vinegar and cook until the liquid is absorbed.

Step 4: Increase the heat to medium and, using a ladle, add the hot sweet potato stock to the pan one spoonful at a time, ensuring the rice is being constantly stirred as it absorbs the liquid. Continue to add stock and stir until most of the liquid has been used, testing the rice to ensure it is just cooked. Remove from heat.

Step 5: Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil. When hot add the prawns and cook till browned. Season salt and pepper and remove from heat. Cover and set aside.

Step 6: For the kids, ladle a portion of risotto into a saucepan and place over  medium heat.  Add the cooked sweet potato cubes, Colby cheese and spinach. Mix well and serve.

Step 7: For the adults, return the pan of risotto to a medium heat, season with thyme and add the remaining stock, ensuring the texture is still fairly fluid. Remove from the heat, then add the butter and parmesan cheese, stirring vigorously until combined. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Serve each portion with a couple of prawns and top with rocket leaves.

Watch the recipe video:

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Find more sweet potato recipes:

• Sweet potato shepherd’s pie recipe
• Sweet potato and Italian sausage pasta bake recipe
• Sweet potato soft tacos and burritos recipe
• Homemade sweet potato gnocchi recipe

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This is a sponsored post for Australian Sweet Potatoes