RICHMOND, Va - Joy Crump, Executive Chef and Co-Owner of FOODE and ‘Top Chef’ Contestant, served up a Sweet Potato Risotto, complete with white wine, parmesan, and fresh hersbs, a dish perfect for a fall feast. The new season of ‘Top Chef’ in Boston premieres Wednesday, October 15th at 10pm. For more information visit http://www.bravotv.com/ and http://foodeonline.com/our-story/.
Joy Crump’s Sweet Potato Risotto
Olive oil (just keep the bottle handy--you’ll use it a few times in this recipe)
dash of cayenne (optional)
Heat a few tbs of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, a bit if salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water (should taste like sea salt), cook the sweet potatoes until fork tender, roughly 10-12 minutes. Drain the sweets thoroughly and mash with a fork until broken (like mashed potatoes, but a few lumps are fine for texture)
Cook the arborio rice by heating 3 or 4 tbs of olive oil in a medium saucepan until shimmering and hot. Don’t burn or smoke the oil, just get it hot. Add the rice all at once and allow the grains to toast. You’ll begin to smell it after just minute or two. Don’t brown the rice; you’re just getting it going. Add the wine and when it has just about completely cooked away, begin adding the stock (or water), ¼ cup at a time, stirring the rice almost constantly. Be sure to allow each addition to cook out or evaporate before adding the next. It should take 25 to 30 minutes for all the stock water to be absorbed and for the rice to be totally tender.
