Sunday, April 17, 2005

Ruby Red Risotto



This is one of my favorite recipes, and I'm extra proud of it because it is all mine. Not borrowed from someone, or inspired by someone else - I hadn't even had beet risotto before I tried my hand at it - all my own creation. I make it mostly in the fall, the colors are so excellently autumnal for me, but it's wonderful with the first small beets of spring too. I made it last night for my big sister, who is visiting Stockholm for a week. This recipe is enough for three large portions, and since I added bacon, I didn't serve anything else with it. Otherwise, this works well as a side dish as well.



Ruby Red Risotto

250 g your favorite risotto rice (I use arborio)
4-5 raw beets, depending on size and taste, peeled and diced
2 small onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
olive oil
butter
1 litre chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp chipotle paste or other chili paste
200 g bacon
large handful shredded parmesan

Heat the stock, and fry the bacon until crispy. Heat up the oil and the butter in a large pan, and gently fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the rice, and stir well. Fry on medium heat for a few minutes, add the beets and stir well. Start adding the stock, working as with any risotto in small increments. You might not need all the stock, or you may need a little bit more. (I generally put on a kettle of water, and just add some of that if I need to.) When the rice is done, and that is when it's soft but not mushy, stir in the honey, chili paste and bacon. Taste to see if you want any more seasonings, but remember that you still have to add the parmesan, so don't salt. Add the parmesan right before serving.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The risotto looks wonderful, Anne!! Really beautiful!

Danno said...

Nice work Anne, that looks fantastic! I love the addition of Bacon, Chipotle, and honey! Smoky, sweet, heat! My mouth is watering! Have you ever read a recipe that you just knew was great, because you could taste the flavors within your brain? This is one of those times. Nice work! What a cool combination of flavors!

Anne said...

Thank you Dagmar and Danno! This truly is a great little risotto - a real standby for me, since I usually have everything at hand except for maybe the beets.

Anonymous said...

That risotto look gorgeous! I can't wait to try it out!

Zelda said...

I love it when you frolic around in the kitchen and come up with a masterpiece! I think this dish has a good combination of flavors and heat.

Andreas said...

It was pretty sweet, thanks for the recipe. I added a dash of smoked paprika at the end as well to boost the chipotle a bit and it worked a treat!