Go to the Recipe: Beet Risotto
Excuse the dishes in the background haha. Beet risotto with jamon, zucchini flower, creme fraiche and pumpkin seeds.
from Granada, Spain.
Cheers from chicago.
The recipe needed quite a bit more liquid than was called for and the beets needed more time than was called for to soften, but it all came together for a very nice dish.
I have a few beets in my fridge and was just thinking of trying them in a risotto. This is perfect timing!
Question: For most risotto recipes, the approach is usually to add a splash of dry white wine, before proceeding with stock (meat or vegetable) incrementally. I noticed that most of the liquid this recipe calls for is straight up plain water. I've always cooked risotto thinking that the risotto is only as good as the stock you make it with as that's where you get the depth in flavour for the rice. Was wondering if there's a specific reason you went with purely water (aside from the beet juice of course)? Why not vegetable stock + beet juice, or even wine at the beginning, plus water after that if vegetable stock is deemed too overpowering for the beets?
Would really love to hear your considerations in arriving at this recipe! Thanks!
Is this recipe replacing the previous beet risotto recipe? The previous one seems to have disappeared.
Gorgeous!!!
Looks lovely, linas!
Yes, this recipe replaces the old one. It's new and improved!
Your recipe calls for adding 100g water at the beginning, then adding the rest, which is 300g with the beets. Isn't that a lot of water to add all at once when making risotto? I've always added it gradually throughout the cooking process, never more than a half cup at a time. Is there a difference here because you're adding it at the same time as the beets?
Made it last night and it came out awesome! The roasted onions were amazing!
"Note: If you want a richer, more traditional risotto, you can skip this step and add dairy cream instead of onion cream in the last step of this recipe."
My italian grandma and the great Marcella Hazan would cry if they saw you adding cream to a risotto. Sorry, but that is far from traditional... It is absolutely not necessary.
Despite that, great recipe! I will try it for sure.
I thought I would point out that we can do it with Parmesan and still be totally vegan. We vegans make our own cheeses and we buy non dairy cheeses which are absolutely perfect. We have creams, milks, Sour creams, Yogurt, and even Whipped toppings without using dairy for it, and it tastes the same. I teach others around the world how to make it when they can't find it to buy it. So even with the non dairy cheese, it would still be vegan. Anyone interested in learning how, let me know.
Good note, thanks Guilherme! I'll update it with better language. What's your Italian grandma's recipe?? Do tell!
I meant to also mention that if you use soaked Raw and unsalted cashews you can cut the amount of onion in half and replace that with pureed cashews in cold water and have an even creamier dish. It stays vegan, ends up more nutritious, and tastes amazing.
Looks amazing, Francisco!! What's that you put on top?
Hahaha I am pretty sure you can do better than she! You are the best, definitely. Congrulations for the website!
Its the onion puree. That alone was amazing!
Looks like a great recipe, I will be trying this out.
On a side note, I wanted to thank you for the very small additions of things like
1500g beets, (about 5 whole beets)
I dont usually have a bunch of beets chilling in the fridge ( I know, I should)
and when I go out to the store, my non professional chef self would have no idea how many beets that is. Adding small things like that to the recipe are the difference between me trying it out or not.
I love the site and always read the recipes. I can't look away from a recipe. But trying it out means I have to at least think I can pull it off.
Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing! I'm certainly going to give this recipe a try this weekend!
I formerly did as well.........turns out it's not necessary. See Heston Blumenthal and others!
tsewi, please post to the foprum when you do. THere's a bunch of us on there always looking out. :-) If you can swing it, take 1/2 the recipe and make it with the veg stock + beet juice and the other the way the recipe outlines. This way you can see and taste the difference. The way it's listed builds the beet flavor layers (my opinion) as opposed to adding veg stock. Now consider this with other flavors in risotto......b/c of the CS recipe our risotto flavor world just got bigger using a pretty easy technique. :-)
Would you keep the liquid:rice ratio the same if cooking this the MC way in a pressure cooker?
Does anyone know Enrico Bartolini? He has a very similar recipe (dating back to 2004-2005 I presume) that evolved during time using beet ice cream and creamy Gorgonzola.
Great to know, digitcon, thanks for the feedback. I agree that those notes are super helpful.
Woah! Sounds delicious. Love that idea.
Rice is not healthy any way you look at it but yes it does sound very good.
Very interested, how do I contact you. Thanks
whatever happened to the video? It was right here! ):
I made this last night and it was quite good but it seemed like 75g of olive oil was way too much. This was my first time making risotto so I don't have anything to compare it to.
does it make difference on the color if we use ready-to-serve beets from store instead of the raw ones? i used the store bought beet and didnt get the same vibrant color. other than that it's delish!
Tried it with pearled barley instead of rice:
Delicious recipe, thanks!
Beet Risotto and Mason Jar Chardonnay.
Beet and fennel risotto. Salad of arugula and fennel fronds.
Ok, mind officially blown. What?? lol
hey chefsteps! i just tried the recipe for the first time and i have a quick question. in my finished dish the diced beets have a kind of nut-crunch kind of texture (somewhat like pine nuts). did my risotto turn out right? not sure if i undercooked them. love the onion cream by the way!
This was excellent! I don't have a juicer, so I bought beet juice instead of making my own.
Beautiful, James!
Can this be cooked ahead of time or does it need to be made fresh to order.
Do you need to heat water or stock before adding to onions and rice
With risotto, you can cook the to the point where you have added half of the liquid to the rice and that ladle of liquid had been absorbed. Then quickly spread rice out on a baking sheet and get into fridge to cool as quickly as possible. Once cooled wrap in plastic or put in a bowl with lid. If you cover before it cools the rice will overcook. Also cool remaining liquid. When you are ready to eat simply heat liquid in pot and heat pan over medium. When pan is hot, add a small amount of oil and the rice then continue in processe of adding liquid one ladle at a time until rice is cooked. Doing rice this way may require 1/4 to 1 cup more liquid. This is how we were taught in culinary school to cook risotto for a later service. If you cook the rice all the way and then try to reheat it to serve later you end up with mushy, overcooked, not creamy rice. Also, doing it this way, it only takes about 5 minutes to reheat the liquid and pan and the maybe 10 or so minutes to finish cooking the rice.
Instead of cubing I put the beets in a blender with 200g of water tsp it can be incorporated in the risotto better.
Turned out awesome! Highly recommend doing the onion cream and juicing the beets!
You bought your own beet juice ... this is what I needed to hear ... going to make it tonight now. Thank you for that idea, it had not occurred to me.
Of course, this is why risotto in a restaurant is rarely as good as what you make at home. The texture of the rice just won't be as perfect. But most restaurants can't afford to spend 20 minutes making a dish from scratch during a busy service.
Any recommendation on protein I can add? Thinking of lamb or steak but beet flavor is throwing me off a little
Love this recipe ^_^
Looks amazing, what did you add on top?
Very good recipe. Would try next time with goat cheese and a bit of crema di balsamico. Beets were cooked sous vide with a bit of thym and lemon zest and used the liquid from pouches to sub for the juice. The onion cream definitely on point 👌🏾
