Beetroot Risotto

When I opened our weekly vegetable box on this particular occasion, I was pleasantly surprised to find a big bunch of gorgeous beetroot staring back at me.

For while I love beetroot, I really don’t cook with it all that often (probably because it can be a little fiddly and finger-staining), and this now presented the perfect opportunity for me to get over my beetroot issues…

My solution? A pair of gloves. And I got to work.

The first dish that came to mind was beetroot risotto. So beetroot risotto it was.

And how gorgeous were the results!

I peeled the beetroot, then processed it into fine strips using my food processor. This then went into a heated frypan, with olive oil, butter and mushrooms, and cooked for 2 minutes.

Followed by aborio rice and large spoonfuls of vegetable stock, allowing the stock to heat and evaporate after each spoonful.

30 minutes or so later, we had ourselves quite the lovely risotto.

Divided among our serving plates, and finished with a handful of fresh rocket.

My oh my – how vibrant and pretty this dish was. I particularly loved the contrast of colours between the rich red risotto and fresh green salad leaves.

As for the risotto itself, the subtle sweet beetroot flavour shone through, and we were more than pleased with the results.

A delicious dinner indeed.

What about you? Do you like to cook with fresh beetroot?