Beet Risotto

I love the taste of beets, but preparing them is so time consuming that I tend to avoid buying them. Most recipes involving beets require you to roast the beets and then peel them. I came across a recipe for beet risotto in Food and Wine that just cooked the beets on the stove top in significantly less time. This risotto recipe is supposed to turn a beautiful red color from the beets. I didn’t get the same bright red color but I still love how it looks!

Ingredients:

Prepare the beets. Peel and finely chop.

In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Cover and keep warm.  In another pot, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the chopped shallot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the beets and cook, stirring, for 12 minutes. (I cooked mine for 12 minutes as the recipe directed and ended up burning some of them. Try for 10 and go from there).

Spoon half of the beets into a small bowl.

Add the rice and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring until the stock is nearly absorbed. Add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the stock to absorb each time, stirring constantly. It will take about 20 minutes to cook fully.

Stir in the cooked beets, cheese, and poppy seeds. Cook until heated through. To serve, spoon into a bowl and top with sliced beets and poppy seeds.

I really realllllly wish I didn’t burn some of the beets! The flavor of this was awesome, but was slightly ruined by the burnt pieces. Sigh. The beets and shallots make this risotto slightly sweet, and really delicious!

Mine may not be nearly as pretty as the photo in the original recipe, but the taste made up for it .  This would be a really great side to add some color to a meal.