beetroot risotto

You won't be able to resist today's recipe, because the risotto brought to us by Eva, the author of Bake-Street , is scrumptious: it's a delicious and colorful risotto that I'm sure you'll love even if you're not a big fan. of the beet It is one of the best risotto recipes for its peculiar flavor and the original contrast of caramelized hazelnuts. Do not miss it!

Risotto is one of the most traditional dishes of Italian gastronomy. Its origin comes from eastern Piedmont, western Lombardy and Verona due to the abundance of rice in these areas.

The key to success in obtaining a good risotto is the rice , this is essential. There are several types that we can use for this purpose such as Carnaroli , Arborio or Vialone Nano, for example. These high-quality rices have the ability to absorb liquid and release starch, which will allow us to obtain a very creamy result.

When cooking with them, they do not all follow the same cooking guidelines. For example, Carnaroli rice is less likely to go overboard while Vialone Nano cooks for less time and absorbs flavors better.

To prepare this risotto I used the Buyer high iron skillet . Thanks to its base, it is very comfortable to prepare this type of preparation in which we need good heat distribution as well as height to add broth, stir... without counting on the fact that the food does not stick to the base.

For this it is very important that the first time we use it we make a good curing. In this video you can see how to do it easily and quickly.

The variant that I leave you with beetroot is simply… spectacular. There are several beetroot risotto recipes in which they add this puree. In my case, I preferred to add it in squares, like in this Kraut-Kopf recipe . It is very nice to find small pieces of beetroot together with the rice, it gives a very nice soft point.

Ingredients for a risotto for two people:

• 150 g of fresh beetroot
• 150 g of Carnaroli risotto “Sivaris”
• ½ large or 1 small shallot
• 50 g white wine
• 530 g of a good vegetable broth, better if it is homemade
• 25g crème fraiche
• 25g butter
• 15 g grated Parmesan
• salt flakes
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 and ½ tablespoons of Trilloliva olive oil
• a pinch of ground cinnamon
• Parmesan flakes to decorate

For the caramelized hazelnuts:

• a handful of hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon honey
• zest of ½ orange
• pinch of salt

For the beetroot petals:

• 1 small fresh beetroot
• salt flakes
• black pepper to taste

De Buyer high iron skillet , T&G acacia wood board and Pallarès beech wood knife

ELABORATION

Prepare the beetroot petals:

If you have a dehydrator :

1. With the help of a mandolin , using the thinnest and smoothest blade, we cut the beetroot into slices.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. We place the slices in a dehydrator and leave them at 70ºC for 6-7 hours.

If you do not have a dehydrator, you can make them in the oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 70ºC with heat up and down.
2. On a baking tray, lined with parchment paper, place the beetroot slices in such a way that they do not overlap. We splash to taste.
3. We introduce at medium height and leave around 4-5 hours. Before taking them out, try them to see how crunchy they are.

We caramelize the hazelnuts:

1. Place a medium skillet over medium heat.
2. In a mortar , lightly crush the hazelnuts, reserve.
3. Once the pan is hot, add the hazelnuts and toast gently.
4. When they have a light golden colour, add the honey, a pinch of salt and the orange zest and leave over medium heat until caramelized. We will move from time to time to avoid excessive toasting.
5. Once they are caramelized, we turn over on baking paper and let them cool completely.

We roast the beetroot for the risotto:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC with heat up and down.
2. Wrap the beetroot in aluminum foil and place on a tray. We introduce at medium height and leave about 1 hour.
3. If the beetroot is medium, it will be ready in this time. If it is larger, it may take around 1 hour and 20 minutes. To know if it is ready we will prick with a fork, it must be tender.
4. Remove and let cool.

Prepare the beetroot risotto:

1. Remove the skin from the beetroot and cut into small squares, approximately 0.5 cm. We booked.
2. Cut the shallot into brunoise, very small squares, reserve.
3. In a medium saucepan, pour the vegetable broth and place over medium high heat. We leave until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and reserve.
4. Meanwhile, we place our Buyer Iron skillet over medium low heat, pour in the oil and leave until it reaches temperature.
5. Add the chopped shallot and poach until it has a transparent color.
6. Once the shallot is ready, add the rice. We went up to medium heat and sautéed for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly so that the rice was well soaked.
7. Add the white wine, stir, and leave until it evaporates. It will take us around 2 minutes.
8. We begin to add the vegetable broth little by little. Pour between 1 and 2 saucepans, which lightly cover the rice, and stir constantly. We will not add more broth until the rice has absorbed it.
9. Repeat the process until all the broth is added. It will take us around 20 minutes.
10. When the rice is almost ready, tender on the outside but hard on the inside, add the diced beets.
11. We constantly stir to impregnate all the rice with its vivid and intense color.
12. Add the crème fraîche, butter and grated Parmesan, and stir again until the ingredients are completely homogeneous. We remove from the heat.
13. Add the cinnamon, about 1/8 teaspoon, and mix again to distribute evenly. Total cooking time will be around 22-24 minutes.

We serve the risotto.

Once we have the risotto ready , we should not delay in serving it .
Divide into two plates, decorate with some Parmesan flakes, caramelized hazelnuts and beetroot petals.

I can assure you that it is one of the best risottos I have tried to date. Not only is it attractive to look at thanks to its intense color, but it also tastes really amazing even if you are not a big fan of beets.

The accompaniment of the caramelized hazelnuts with honey and orange provide that crunchy and sweet touch that contrasts very well with the creaminess of the risotto. And the beetroot petals give it a very apparent appearance, plus they are very good!

In fact, I recommend that you make more of them since you can use them, they can be kept very well in an airtight container and it is a very healthy type of snack.

Give it a try, your stomach will thank you.