Recipe

Ingredients:

2 fresh beetroot – medium sized
3 Tbsp butter
1 small onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
grated zest of a lemon
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
6 cups of stock- heated until hot
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Method:

Boil the beetroot until tender, peel and coarsely grate then set aside.

Melt the butter in a heavy pot and cook the onion until translucent, not brown. Add the zest and garlic and cook for a minute.

Stir in the rice and cook for another minute to lightly toast the rice grains.

Add the wine and cook until evaporated.

Add all the hot stock and seasoning and stir well.

Cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat to a simmer and put the timer on for 16 minutes.

Stir occasionally and add more stock if needed to bring to a soft creamy consistency.

After the rice has cooked for 16 minutes add the cooked grated beetroot and the parmesan cheese. Gently fold all the mixture together to create a ripple effect. Cover and cook gently to heat through.

Serve with a splash of olive oil to dress the dish.

Tips

This recipe is easy and doesn’t require a lot of stirring to reach a good consistency.

I often use water in stead of stock if I don’t have any on hand and it still tastes good. If you are using stock be sure to taste before seasoning because often the packets of stock have enough salt.

I have used different types of wine, including red wine on occasion and each variety was good. The best idea is to use what ever wine you feel like drinking while you are cooking!! Alternatively, omit the wine altogether and use a little more stock instead.

I prefer to fold through the beetroot to get a marbled effect and maintain some texture however if you prefer to make the risotto more creamy and soupy the beetroot will quickly colour the whole dish and will look slightly different to my version… but will still taste great.

Variations

Mushroom and Blue Cheese

Omit the beetroot and mix in mushrooms which have been cooked in butter. Then fold through knobs of creamy blue cheese. Be careful to fold gently so that the knobs of cheese retain their shape to provide a punch of flavour now and again throughout the dish.