beetroot risotto

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

Risotto is one of the most traditional dishes of Italian cuisine. Its origins come 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 prone to overcooking, while Vialone Nano takes less time to cook and absorbs flavours better.

To prepare this risotto I used the Buyer high cast iron frying pan . Thanks to its base it is very easy to prepare this type of preparations in which we need a good distribution of heat as well as height to add broth, stir... without taking into account that the food does not stick to the base.

For this reason, it is very important that the first time we use it we do a good curing. In this video you can see how to do it in a simple and fast way.

The variation I'm leaving you with beetroot is simply... spectacular. There are several recipes for beetroot risotto in which they add pureed beetroot. In my case, I preferred to add it in small cubes, as in this Kraut-Kopf recipe . It's very nice to find small pieces of beetroot together with the rice, it gives a very pleasant softness.

Ingredients for a risotto for two people:

• 150 g fresh beetroot
• 150 g Carnaroli “Sivaris” risotto
• ½ large shallot or 1 small one
• 50 g of white wine
• 530 g of a good vegetable broth, homemade is better
• 25 g crème fraîche
• 25 g butter
• 15 g grated Parmesan
• flake salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 and ½ tablespoon of Trilloliva olive oil
• a pinch of cinnamon powder
• Parmesan flakes for decoration

For the caramelized hazelnuts:

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

For the beet petals:

• 1 small fresh beet
• flake salt
• black pepper to taste

De Buyer deep cast iron frying pan , T&G acacia wood board and Pallarès beech wood knife

ELABORATION

We prepare the beet petals:

If you have a dehydrator :

1. Using a mandolin , using the finest and smoothest blade, cut the beet into slices.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. We place the slices in a dehydrator and leave it at 70ºC for about 6-7 hours.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can make them in the oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 70ºC with heat from above and below.
2. On a baking tray lined with baking paper, place the beet slices so that they do not overlap. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place them in the oven at medium height and leave for about 4-5 hours. Before removing them, taste them to see how crispy they are.

We caramelize the hazelnuts:

1. Place a medium skillet over medium heat.
2. In a mortar, lightly crush the hazelnuts and set aside.
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 them on medium heat until they caramelise. Stir them from time to time to prevent them from over-browning.
5. Once they are caramelized, we turn them out onto baking paper and let them cool completely.

We roast the beetroot for the risotto:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC with heat from above and below.
2. Wrap the beetroot in aluminium foil and place on a tray. Place it at medium height and leave for about 1 hour.
3. If the beetroot is medium-sized, it will be ready in this time. If it is larger, it may take about 1 hour and 20 minutes. To check if it is ready, prick it with a fork; it should be tender.
4. We take it out and let it cool.

We prepare the beetroot risotto:

1. Remove the skin from the beetroot and cut into small squares, approximately 0.5 cm in size. Set aside.
2. We cut the shallot into brunoise, very small squares, and set aside.
3. Pour the vegetable broth into a medium pot and place over medium-high heat. Let it simmer until it reaches a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, we place our de Buyer Iron pan on medium-low heat, pour in the oil and leave it until it reaches temperature.
5. Add the chopped shallot and sauté until transparent.
6. Once the shallot is ready, add the rice. Increase the heat to medium and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly so that the rice is well coated.
7. Add the white wine, stir, and let it evaporate. This will take about 2 minutes.
8. We begin to add the vegetable broth little by little. We pour 1 or 2 ladles, so that it lightly covers the rice, and we stir constantly. We will not add more broth until the rice has absorbed it.
9. We repeat the process until all the broth has been added. It will take about 20 minutes.
10. When the rice is almost ready, tender on the outside but with a hard point inside, add the diced beetroot.
11. We stir constantly to impregnate all the rice with its bright and intense color.
12. Add the crème fraîche, butter and grated Parmesan, and stir again until the ingredients are completely mixed. Remove from heat.
13. Add the cinnamon, about 1/8 teaspoon, and mix again to distribute evenly. The 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 .
We divide it into two plates, decorate with some Parmesan flakes, caramelized hazelnuts and some beetroot petals.

I can assure you that this is one of the best risottos I have ever tried. Not only is it attractive to look at thanks to its intense colour, but its flavour is also really surprising even if you are not a big fan of beetroot.

The caramelized hazelnuts with honey and orange add a crunchy, sweet touch that contrasts well with the creaminess of the risotto. And the beetroot petals give it a very striking appearance, and they are also very tasty!

In fact, I recommend that you make more as you go along with them. They can be stored very well in an airtight container and are a very healthy type of snack.

Give it a try, your stomach will thank you.