beetroot and goats cheese risotto

A while ago, I made a beetroot and goats cheese risotto as the entree in one of my cooking challenges. It was really nice, and I particularly liked that the colour of the beetroots stained the dish, without over powering it. The flavours in this are earthy and robust, definitely a memorable dish.

Here's the recipe.

You will need:

2 fresh beetroots
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
Goats cheese - I used approx 150g
2 cups Arborio or Canarolli Risotto rice
500mL boiling vegetable/chicken stock
250mL white wine
Olive oil

What to do:

Peel your beetroots. You might want to wear gloves for this as otherwise your fingertips will be stained for days! Slice them into small cubes. Add to some rapidly boiling water and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Strain and set aside. NB - this water makes a great stock if you want to save it. Turn into jelly, use to colour home made pasta, or as a (colourful) base for soup.

Bring the vegetable stock to the boil.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over low - moderate heat. Add finely diced onion and garlic and fry until opaque. Add the rice and stir. Once the rice is coated in oil, add the white wine and stir. Keep the heat low.

When the liquid has almost all been absorbed, add a ladle of stock. Stir. Leave to absorb (about two minutes). Repeat this until all the stock has been used, stirring frequently. Check the rice - it should be soft, though not mushy (overdone risotto is not nice at all).

Once you are happy with the basic risotto, remove from the heat. Stir through the goats cheese, then the beetroot and gently incorporate it into the risotto. The more your stir, the more colour your rice will pick up. Add some finely chopped basil or parsley if you would like.

I served this with a balsamic reduction and chicory, and the flavours worked really nicely.