I loooove beets. From the outside a beet looks like your average root vegetable. Then you slice into it and see the deep purple-red color that's marbled with an almost wood grain pattern to it, and you can tell it's something special. Raw, a beet has a slightly bitter aftertaste that I think is a little like the dirt it was plucked from. Roast it and it becomes sweet, but not cloyingly so. The one drawback of working with beets is that it will dye everything it touches, so be careful to wear gloves and choose carefully what surfaces you allow it to touch. This "negative" trait is also a positive one when you want to make a food dyed red (like red velvet cake...ew) without using artificial colorings. I bought some beets from a farm stand they have in my neighborhood and knew immediately what I was going to make with them: beet risotto.
Risotto is easy to make, but easy to screw up. Common mistakes include overcooking the rice, undercooking the rice, running out of broth because you cooked it over too high a temperature, and not stirring constantly. Take care to avoid these mistakes and you'll have a perfect risotto.
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot minced
2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups diced roasted beets (about 4 small beets or 2 larger ones)
6 sage leaves chopped fine
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup chopped Sheep's milk feta plus more for garnish
salt to taste
Instructions:
1) Start roasting the beets about 2 hours before you intend to start the risotto. That way they can cook, cool, and be diced ahead of time. Preheat your oven to 350 F and scrub your beets clean but leave the skins on and trim away the leafy greens if there are any. Those greens are edible so you can save them to sauté for a side dish. Place the beets in a loaf pan or any baking pan and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour in about 1/2 inch of sherry or apple cider vinegar. Cover with aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes or until easily poked with a fork. Allow to cool enough to handle without burning yourself. Wearing gloves, take a paper towel and rub away the skins. They should peel right off.
2) In a small saucepan bring your stock to a simmer and leave over low heat. You don't want to add cold stock to your risotto or it will take forever to cook.
3) In a medium saucepan over medium-low flame, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about a minute. Toss in the shallots and stir to avoid browning. After about 10-15 seconds or until the shallot turn translucent, add the rice and stir until you see white in the centers of the rice.
4) Add the white wine and stir until fully absorbed.
5) Ladle in about 1/2 cup of the broth and stir constantly until absorbed. This should be done over medium low heat. Then add another ladle-full and continue stirring until absorbed. Be sure to start tasting about halfway through cooking so you can gauge how much longer it needs to cook. Repeat this over the next 20-25 minutes until the rice is ALMOST cooked al dente, maybe needing another 2 minutes to be finished.
6) Stir in the beets and sage and finish cooking. It should have a little bite to it and be like a thick porridge.
7) Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan and feta cheeses.
8) Add salt to taste. It shouldn't need a lot of salt since the cheese is very salty so be careful when adding any. Spoon into bowls, top with some more crumbled feta and serve immediately. Enjoy!
* If you have leftover risotto you can reheat and serve OR you can make fried risotto balls (recipe coming soon)
**I used sheep's milk feta because it has a slightly more tart flavor which I like, but you can use normal feta
*** Make sure all your prep work and ingredients are measured out and ready before you start cooking the risotto. This isn't something you can multitask while making since you have to stand there constantly stirring.
**** Restaurant trick: A lot of times restaurants will par-cook risotto (cook until about 3/4 of the way done then store covered in the refrigerator) and then when someone orders it they can just take some out, add to a saucepan and finish cooking with broth the same way you normally cook it. What this means for you: You can cut down on cooking time by par-cooking ahead of time and then it will only take 5 minutes to finish the risotto when you need it!
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