Beetroot Risotto

I peeled one more beetroot than I needed to make Borscht yesterday, so decided to make myself a Beetroot Risotto for dinner.

Most recipes call for roasted beetroot to be added once the risotto rice is cooked.  I neither had the time nor the inclination to roast one solitary beetroot so I added raw beetroot right at the start, hence the orangey rather than purpley red hue to the risotto. 

An additional benefit of cooking the beetroot with rice is that it mellows the earthy taste of beetroot which might make it more palatable to those less sure of beetroot.

Serves 2

180g risotto rice

1 small onion, peeled and diced

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

500ml hot vegetable stock

50ml white wine (optional)

1 medium raw beetroot, peeled and grated

1 large handful of chopped rainbow chard, shredded or baby spinach (optional)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

50g crumbled feta, grated parmesan, or extra mature cheddar (optional)

Soften the onion in the olive oil over a medium high heat. 

Once softened and translucent, stir in the rice and garlic and coat the rice grains in the oil.

Stir in the grated beetroot and any chopped chard stalks.

Pour in the wine if using, or roughly 100ml of the hot vegetable stock.  Bring the wine or stock to the boil and turn down to a rapid simmer.

Stir pretty much constantly with a wooden spoon.  Once you can see the bottom of the pan for a few seconds when the wooden spoon is dragged across the centre of the pan, add in another 100ml of stock.

Keep stirring the risotto, and adding more stock when needed, until all the stock has been added.  When you can see the bottom of the pan again, taste the rice to see if it is cooked.  If it is soft like al dente pasta it is cooked. If it is crunchy in the middle of the grain it needs more cooking.

If the rice needs more cooking, add another 100ml of just boiled water from the kettle and keep stirring as before.

If the rice is cooked, stir in shredded chard/spinach and cheese if using, cover, and turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes to wilt the spinach and melt the cheese.

Serve immediately

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