Beetroot & chilli risotto with goat’s cheese

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Other beetroot risotto recipes call for boiling or roasting whole beetroot before chopping and adding them to the risotto.  That’s fine if you remember to get the beetroot on two hours before dinner.  But if you want an easy one-pot thirty minute meal, then try it this way.  The raw grated beetroot is cooked just enough by the time the risotto is ready.

Recipe:  Beetroot and chilli risotto with goat’s cheese.pdf

Serves: 6

approx 2½ litres vegetable or chicken stock
olive oil
2 medium red onions, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of rosemary, leaves minced
4 fresh hot red chillies, deseeded and minced
400g arborio rice
300ml dry white wine
600g beetroot, peeled and grated
160g parmesan or mature cheddar, finely grated
80g unsalted butter, cold, in cubes
red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g fresh goat’s cheese log, cut into 6 slices
chilli flakes (optional)

1. Heat stock in a saucepan and keep warm.  In a wide heavy pan fry the onion in a good lug of olive oil with a pinch of salt until soft.  When nearly done add minced garlic, rosemary and chilli and fry for a couple of minutes more.
2. Add rice, stir to coat with oil and cook for a couple of minutes, then add wine and cook until almost all absorbed.  Add grated beetroot, then two ladles of hot stock and some salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the stock has almost all been absorbed.  Continue adding stock bit by bit in this manner until the grains of rice are soft, with slightly al dente centres, around 25 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and vigorously stir in cheese and butter.  Loosen with more stock if needed – it should be moist but not soupy – season if needed and finish with a little red wine vinegar to brighten the flavour.
4. Let sit for a couple of minutes then serve without further delay, garnished with a disk of goat’s cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of chilli flakes, if using.