I’ve posted a recipe for beet risotto before, a risotto made with regular vegetable or chicken stock and then combined with roasted beets. When I saw a recipe on Hans’ blog Chefsopinion in which he boiled beets and then used the water in which the beets had been boiled as stock, I thought that would be a nice alternative way to prepare a beet risotto. Since I like the combination of beets and goat cheese, I added some nice French raw milk goat cheese to the risotto. This turned out to be a wonderful combination.
Ingredients
For 2 servings
500 grams (1.1 lbs) raw beets
100 grams (3.5 oz) goat cheese, preferably raw milk
2 onions
1 stick celery
1 carrot
130 grams (2/3 cup) carnaroli rice (or arborio)
80 ml (1/3 cup) dry white wine
3 Tbsp butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Cut 500 grams of beets into quarters without peeling them. Roughly chop an onion, a carrot, and stick of celery.
Put the vegetables into a pot and cover with 1 litre (4 cups) of water. Season with just a bit of salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Cover and keep simmering until the beets are tender but firm to the bite, 45 minutes to an hour.
You can check with a fork whether the beets are cooked.
Lift the beets out of the stock and set aside.
Strain the stock into a saucepan through a fine sieve. Keep the stock hot.
Peel the beets, and grate them.
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a wide shallow thick-bottomed pan. When the butter has melted, add a small onion, minced.
Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion starts to color.
Add 130 grams of risotto rice, and toast the rice until the edges are translucent.
Add 80 ml of dry white wine, and stir over medium heat until the wine has been absorbed. Regulate the heat such that the rice simmers nicely.
Add a ladle of stock…
…and stir until it has been absorbed. When that happens, add more stock, and keep stirring.
After about 10 minutes, add the grated beets.
Keep stirring and adding stock for between 15 and 20 minutes.
Start tasting the rice after 15 minutes. The rice should be tender but firm to the bite. Carnaroli is a bit easier than arborio, which has a shorter window of perfect doneness.
When the rice is cooked to your liking, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn off the heat.
Add a tablespoon of butter in small pieces. (At this point you could also add part of the goat cheese, if you like, and allow it to melt along with the butter. Or even replace the butter with additional goat cheese.)
Stir until the butter has melted, then cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes or so before serving.
Serve on preheated plates with chunks of goat cheese on top.
Wine pairing
Goat cheese is always great with Sauvignon Blanc, especially Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. Because of the earthy beets, I decided on an oak-aged Pouilly-Fumé that has been aged (a lot) further in the bottle. It worked very well indeed.
Domaine Masson-Blondelet, Tradition Cullus 2003 Pouilly-Fumé
- 100% sauvignon blanc from old vines, aged in new 600 litre oak casks.
- Color: golden from age
- Nose: minerals and complex
- Taste: balanced and complex with a long finish
- Conclusion: Very good, ****1/2 (it was a bit better a couple of years ago)
- Combination: ******
Flashback
Although you may associate this dish with summer, Gambas al Pil Pil can be enjoyed throughout the year.
Beautiful. I love the chunks of goat cheese, such a great parent would beets!
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Beetroot risotto is wonderful. I make the flavour even more intense by using the juice of 3 large beets plus 3 roasted beets diced and a good dollop of grated horeseradish. It’s been too long since I made this wonderful dish..
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My recipe file as of lately might as well be renamed as ‘Stefan’s Recipes’! Love beetroot since being a bub but do not make maximum usage of the hugely healthy and tasty vegetable: this risotto sounds more than moreish and will be attempted at the first opportunity . . . { Lunch in but a mutter of minutes: no, no risotto sadly, but Sancerre will be poured . . . 🙂 !]
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And what did you have with that Sancerre?
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*big smile* Salmon and salad followed by Camembert . . . . nought ‘fancy’ but lovely on a 40C day . . . friends here did approve . . .
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Wow, what a color! On the color alone, I would have to serve it with the red wine. Lighter red, of course, but still 🙂
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It would work with a light pinot noir and that would work with the beets, but the overall effect wouldn’t be as thrilling as sauvignon blanc with goat cheese.
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I’ve been thinking of preparing a risotto with goat cheese, Stefan, but never got around to it. Problem is that although I purchase goat cheese frequently, it’s gone by the time I’m ready to make risotto. (Really have to learn self-control.) Beets? Never would have thought to use them here. You have piqued my interest, I’ll give you that. Maybe this summer when I can get some great beets from the farmers.
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I’ve learned how well beets and goat cheese go together from my dinners at Librije restaurant. Beets are one of chef Jonnie’s favorite ingredients. One of my favorite dishes by him included beets, goat cheese, and foie gras!
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Che dire, solo il colore … Non amo le barbabietole cotte, come le trovo al supermercato, ma mi hanno detto che crude e cucinate sono squisite. Proverò 🙂
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Sono sicuramente meglio se comprato crude. Soprattutto quelle fresche (in stagione) e soprattutto cucinato al forno (in aluminio).
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Grazie. Faccio fatica a trovarle
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