Well the warm summer months are long behind us now. These last couple of days have been so chilly I’ve found it hard to get out of bed and motivate myself to do anything. And while I feel lazy and unhealthy from a diet of chocolate eggs over Easter I actually really like Autumn. It’s during this time of the year that I start craving hearty comfort-food for dinner, turning my attention from fresh salads and barbecues to stews, slow-cooking and curries. Excited at the turn of the season I spent the better half of yesterday looking through my myriad cookbooks and food magazines looking for new interesting autumn-warming recipes to make for dinner this week. Browsing through the hundreds of dog-eared pages in present and past Autumn issues of Delicious and Donna Hay magazines, I was struck by numerous recipes using beetroot. Now, not only do I absolutely love beetroot, but this healthful root vegetable is at it’s peak from April to August. I love the vibrant purple colour, earthy flavour and versatility of this oft-forgoten vegetable. It can be boiled, roasted, grated and baked. It can be used in savoury or sweet dishes. I marries beautifully with soft cheese (goat’s cheese, feta), herbs (thyme, parsley, chives), fruit (pear, lemon), nuts (walnuts) and roasted meat, to name but a few. Well, I just knew I had to try some of these recipes.
Thinking that five beetroot recipes in one week could be overkill (for Calum that is), I made a plan to try them all over the coming weeks. So get ready for some major purple take-over!
Today, beetroot risotto.
Although I was disappointed to discover that this meal was not quite Calum’s cup of tea, I really enjoyed it. There were so many great flavours – the zingy lemon, tart goat’s feta and earthy beetroot – keeping me wanting more with every bite. And even though there’s a bit of prep involved (no, sadly it’s not one of those get-home-from-work-and-have-dinner-on-the-table-in-minutes recipes) I love the repetition of standing over the stove top stirring risotto. It’s comforting and relaxing. And when all that effort is put on a plate, it’s translated into great accomplishment. You could even prepare the beetroot in advance to save time in the evening. This is definitely something a little different (and impressive upon presentation). One to add to my risotto recipe collection for sure.
Beetroot Risotto
(adapted from Valli Little’s roast beetroot and goat’s cheese risotto with thyme dressing in Delicious. magazine, issue 109)
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
100mL extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
500g beetroot
6 cups chicken stock
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
300g arborio rice
125mL red wine
60g unsalted butter
120g goat’s feta
Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with foil. Whisk lemon zest and juice, 2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp thyme in a bowl. Season and set aside.
Wrap the beetroot in foil and roast on baking tray in oven for 45 minutes or until tender. Cool, then peel and chop into 1 cm cubes. Return beetroot to baking tray, then drizzle with 2 tbsp oil and roast for 15 minutes or until starting to caramelise.
Place half the roasted beetroot into a blender with 400 mL chicken stock. Blend until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve and combine with remaining stock in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and cover with a lid.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in pan over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic and remaining 1 tbsp thyme and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat grains. Add wine and simmer until evaporated. Add beetroot stock, one ladleful at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. Continue, stirring constantly until rice is al dente. Remove from the heat and stir in butter and remaining roast beetroot.
Serve scattered with feta and drizzled with lemon and thyme dressing.
Serves 4.
