Beetroot risotto

I love beetroot and risotto, so this is one of my favourite risottos.  I first had this when I went out for dinner some years ago, unfortunately I can’t remember where and this is my version based on that meal.  I always top mine with either sour cream, a bit of Greek yoghurt or creme fraiche and a sprinkling of dill as I find it really brings the flavours out. You can of course skip it, though in my opinion it won’t taste as good….

Ingredients

500 g of beetroot, scrubbed and top and tailed

1 onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

4 tbs olive oil

300 g risotto rice

175ml dry white wine

500-600 ml vegetable stock

4 tbs sour cream

2tbs chopped dill

2 tbs Parmesan (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 C.  Chop the beetroot into quarters, toss to coat in 2 tbs of the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes until the beetroot is soft. (You can skip this stem by buying pre-cooked beetroot if you like).
2. Put the remaining olive oil in a deep pan and gently saute the onion.  Make sure it doesn’t catch. Add the garlic for the last couple of minutes.
3. Add the risotto rice and stir to coat the rice in the oil.
4. Add the white wine and allow to gently bubble away until almost absorbed.
5. Add 500 ml of the vegetable stock, cover and leave on a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Take the beetroot out of the oven.  Tip into a food processor and blitz into a smooth paste.
7. Check to see if the risotto is cooked, if it isn’t add the rest of the stock and leave for another couple of minutes.  When the rice is cooked, tip in the beetroot and mix. Allow to heat through.  Take off the heat, replace the lid and allow the flavours to mingle for a couple of minutes.
8. Chop the dill.  Spoon the risotto into 4 bowls. Top with sour cream, dill and a sprinkling of parmesan.