Sweet Potato Risotto

Butter, unsalted, 2 tbsp
Onions, raw, .33 cup, chopped
arborio - dry, 2 cups
1 tsp herbs de provence
1/2 tsp thyme
White Wine, 8 fl oz
Chicken Broth, 5 cups
Goat Cheese, Soft, 3 oz
Mashed Sweet Potatoes, 2 cup
salt and pepper to taste

A few notes about the ingredients:

Chicken broth, my chicken broth was from my own stash, that I had made previously with very little salt added.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes, again these were mashed sweet potatoes that I had prepared as a SAVORY side dish earlier. There was no cinnamon or brown sugar added to this. I will link to this recipe eventually.

Herbs de provence, they just elevate any dish to another plane(and I had used them on the pork, just seemed like the thing to do).

Salt, I tend to be an under salter. I've never really liked salt, but am learning to appreciate it in moderation. I salted this dish a little when I sauteed onions, again when I added the wine and then finally when I finished with the final ingredients. I probably added close to a tablespoon at the final salting, HOWEVER, this is largely due to my undersalted chicken broth. Salt a little and then taste. The right amount of salt will make the sweet potato flavor dance and sing without making the dish taste salty.

For this recipe you need a pot, with a tight fitting lid, such as the dutch oven shown above. Whatever you select will eventually go in the oven, so make sure the lid is heat resistant to 350.

Preheat oven to 350. Additionally select a pot to heat the broth in and go ahead and heat that to just before boiling before you begin the steps below. Keep your chicken broth hot while preparing the risotto, but you don't want it boiling the whole time and reducing the quantity of broth.

Heat your pot on medium heat. Add butter, melt. Add onions, cook to translucent. Add herbs de provence, thyme and a little salt and pepper if you like. Stir this around and distribute through the butter and onions well. Add the risotto, stir gently, making sure that all the grains are coated with the butter and herbs. Continue stirring, to prevent rice from sticking or browning, you do not want to walk away right now. The grains should take on a glossy, beginning to take on a translucent look. Pour in the wine, continue stirring. Allow the risotto to absorb almost of the wine. When wine is nearly all absorbed, add 1/2 of the hot chicken stock and stir, when it is nearly all absorbed add another 1/2 cup and repeat. Stir the risotto and add all but approximately 1 cup of chicken stock to the pot. Stir for another minute or two to make sure no risotto is sticking to the bottom. If you are using unsalted chicken broth, now is a good time to a teaspoon of salt and stir it in. Place the lid on the pot and put the pot in the warm oven. Let it cook in the warm oven for approximately 35-45 minutes. Check at 35, if it is still loose and full of liquid let it go for 45 minutes. (I have let mine go as long as an hour, and it was fine)

Remove pot from the oven when the risotto is thick and all liquid is absorbed. At this time you will stir in the mashed sweet potatoes and the goat cheese. If the risotto seems way too thick, use the chicken broth to help loosen it up. It should be thick and creamy, but not like overcooked rice that breaks when it is stirred. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.