Pink beets make a pretty risotto. The crunchy toasted walnuts contrast with the smooth rice, and also add protein.
Beetroot Risotto
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup walnuts.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup risotto rice
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup white wine
3 cups peeled, finely chopped beets
½ teaspoon salt
2½ cups vegetable or chicken stock (or, in a pinch, water)
5-6 cups shredded spring greens and/or spinach
½ cup goat cheese, crumbled
Heat a large-ish saucepan over medium heat. When it is hot, put in the walnuts (don’t add any oil) and toast them for a few minutes until they are fragrant. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn and stir them about to toast them evenly. Remove from the heat and set aside. Once they’re cool chop them roughly.
Add the oil to the pan and when it is hot add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes—turn the heat down a bit if it’s starting to burn. Then add the rice, ginger, and rosemary. Stir around and sauté for another minute or two, until the rice is nicely coated with the oil. Add the wine and let it sizzle, stirring all the time. When the wine has been more or less absorbed, add the beets and salt. Stir them around too.
Start adding the stock or water, about a half a cup at a time, stirring constantly; it’s the stirring that gives a risotto its signature creaminess. When one dose of stock/water has been absorbed, add another half cup. Carry on like this for about 25 minutes, by which time the beets and rice should be tender, and all the stock/water incorporated into the risotto. If the beets and rice aren’t tender enough for your taste add a bit more water and cook for a bit longer.
Once you’re happy with the al-dente-ness of the rice and beets, sir in the greens and let cook over very low heat for a few more minutes, until the greens are wilted. Stir in the cheese and serve, garnished with the chopped walnuts.
serves 4
Ingredients
for the roasted beets
500g beets, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (this is not the occasion to use your super-pricy, genuine-from-Modena balsamic vinegar)
3 tablespoons demerara sugar
2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or some other neutral oil)
salt and pepper
for the rest of the salad
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tbsp grape seed oil (or some other neutral oil)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
all the Canalside kale in your share (say, 180g), stems removed and leaves torn into bite-size pieces
salt and pepper
1 handful of pecorino cheese shavings (or use parmesan)
1 handful toasted hazelnuts (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the trimmed beetroot in a 2-inch deep ceramic or glass dish. Pour the balsamic vinegar and grape seed oil over the beets. Sprinkle the muscovado sugar, salt and pepper around the beets. Cover the dish with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, stir the beets up a bit and continue to roast, uncovered, for perhaps another 15-20 minutes. They should be quite tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa: place the quinoa, 1 cup of water, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it reaches a boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until quinoa is mostly cooked and the little tails start to pop out. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large pot, heat the 2 tbsp of grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and smoked paprika. Stir around until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the quinoa, a splash of water and half of the kale. Stir around until kale begins to wilt a bit. Add the remaining kale, season with salt and pepper and keep stirring. The kale should all be slightly wilted, but still firm. Take off the heat and transfer kale and quinoa mixture to your serving bowl.
Arrange the roasted beets on top of the greens and quinoa. Drizzle the salad with the balsamic cooking liquid from the pan in which you roasted the beetroot (there should be about 1/4 cup of it left). Scatter the pecorino shavings and hazelnuts (if you’re adding these) on top and serve.
(Recipe adapted from The First Mess.)