Vegan Sweet Potato & Mushroom Risotto

I love risotto, but cooked traditionally it is full of cheese, cream, and butter - basically everything that I'm not too keen on eating! This risotto however has absolutely NO dairy and is still just as deliciously creamy as the traditional.

The sweet potato offers numerous vitamins, notably high levels of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, vitamin B6, and vitamin C which comes in handy when battling a cold. Mushrooms are known for reducing inflammation, have cancer-preventing properties, and are also packed with B vitamins.

Eat it as a side dish, a main, or a snack, but keep in mind that it is incredibly filling, and the combination of coconut milk, sweet potato, and nutritional yeast give it a delightfully creamy texture reminiscent of classic risotto, without the guilt!

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*serves 4

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped (or 2 shallots)

1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup Arborio rice, uncooked

2.5-3 cups vegetable stock

2/3 cup coconut milk

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Chopped parsley as garnish

Preheat oven to 400°C.

Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork and bake in preheated oven for 55-70 minutes until cooked through.

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions and mushrooms until onions are translucent. Add crushed garlic and sauté for another minute.

Add uncooked Arborio rice to the pan with the onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Toast the rice for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 1/2 cup of vegetable stock and stir for about 30 seconds, then add 2 cups of stock, stir, reduce heat to medium low and cover for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, check the rice and if it's still hard, add another 1/2 cup of stock and cover for another 5-8 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, remove the skin from the cooked sweet potato and mash in a bowl with the coconut milk.

Once the rice is cooked, stir in the mashed sweet potato, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Taste the risotto to determine whether you would like to add any more salt and pepper.

Serve as a side with some chopped parsley on top. Enjoy!