Ingredients
For the risotto
- 1/2 cup arborio rice
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 1/2 a large onion (90g chopped)
- 10g butter
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
For the beetroot mash
- 2 small beetroots (150g total)
- 10g butter
- 1 tsp plain flour
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
To serve
- 1/4 cup crumbled Chevre in oil
- handful of pea sprouts, stems trimmed
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Beetroot and pine nut risotto with chevre dressing
If you can’t get marinated chevre, simply buy the log kind then break it up into a jar, add a couple of garlic cloves sliced in half, a sprig of thyme and enough good quality light olive oil to cover.
It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can put the beets on while you’re cooking the risotto, but I like to make the mash first in case the beets cook too slowly.
Method
To make the mash, place trimmed but unpeeled beets in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then cook for about 20-30 minutes or until tender – check by piercing with a knife. Drain and using plastic gloves slide the skins off and trim the ends with a knife.
Chop beets into small chunks, place in a measuring jug and process in a food processor or whith a handheld blender until smooth.
Heat butter in the same saucepan. Add flour and whisk quickly to make a simple roux. Pour in the beetroot and cook on medium high heat, whisking for about 5 minutes. Season with lemon juice and white pepper. Set aside.
To make the risotto, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until just translucent. Add rice and cook stirring for about 3 minutes – stirring is very important, so don’t let it cook unattended.
Add a quarter (75ml) of stock to the rice at a time, stirring vigorously and let it simmer until most of the stock has been absorbed. Repeat until all stock has been used. Check rice for tenderness, it should be al dente (to the tooth) but not undercooked.
Add beetroot mash and pine nuts to the risotto and mix well.
Spoon risotto into the cones greased lightly with oil spray and invert them onto a plate. Lift off the moulds gently. Spike with trimmed pea sprouts and drizzle around with Chevre dressing. Sprinkle some pepper onto the dressing as a final touch. Enjoy.
Martyna Candrick is a Sydney-based recipe developer, e-cookbook author and food blogger. As well as writing her own food blog, Wholesome Cook, she has worked for all-natural brands such as Anathoth and Brookfarm and is a regular contributor to Honest Cooking Magazine.
Submitted byMartyna Candrick
Tips and Tricks
As a general rule, try and buy only so much cheese as you can eat in two sittings. This will reduce the need for long cheese storage and reduce the chance of wastage.
Cooked rice can be frozen and saved for another meal. We recommend consuming within 2 weeks of freezing for maximum taste and to avoid freezer burn.
Pine nuts will last 3-4 months past their best buy date if stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They will last an extra couple of months if stored in the freezer.
