I've been in a sort of cooking rut lately, feeling a bit like I've lost my mojo. I usually go through this every January and February - my food mood oscillates between winter and spring, and the recent temperature swings don't help matters. Am I supposed to crave deep, hearty braises to keep warm? Or are we moving into a fresh, cilantro-spiked season? This week (coincidentally with the first of March?) I think I finally broke through. I revisited an old favorite - a beet risotto recipe from Cooking Light 2002, scented with ginger and nourished with barely cooked kale and walnuts. Yum!
For those of you feeling daunted by the task of making risotto, fear not... this is one of the easiest risotto recipes I've come across. And the instructions are not written this way to appease a lazy arm... it actually produces a perfect, firm riso and cooked beets. It must be the moisture inherent to the beet that keeps the risotto from sticking to the bottom of the pan, like it usually would. I changed a few things from the Cooking Light recipe based on ingredients I had on hand - and I think I favor the red wine and kale over the white wine & Swiss chard from the original.
A light salad is a necessity alongside risotto - my favorite is a mixed green salad with golden raisins, feta & walnuts with a red wine vinegar dressing. I usually keep the walnuts & raisins on hand - they have their own dedicated glass canisters on the counter. This is a great base recipe for a salad, to which you could add a number of seasonal ingredients - pears in March or cucumbers in July, for example.
Beet Risotto with Greens & Walnuts
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup Arborio rice
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups finely chopped peeled beets
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
6 cups finely sliced Swiss chard
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Preparation
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 3 minutes. Add rice, ginger, and rosemary; saute 1 minute. Add wine; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly.
Add beets, water, salt, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until beets are tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in chard; cook 5 minutes. Add cheese, stirring until blended. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon walnuts.
Mixed Green Salad
1 small clove garlic
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (Lucini or 'O' vinegars are great)
1/4 tsp dijon mustard (I like Maille)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
ground pepper
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3 handfuls spring mix
15 golden raisins, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup feta cheese
Preheat the oven to 350.
Make the dressing: mash garlic clove with salt in a mortar & pestle until it makes a paste. Move to a measuring cup or small bowl and add the vinegar, mustard, salt & pepper and whisk together. Let sit while you toast the walnuts.
Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Move to a cutting board & chop.
Combine spring mix, raisins, walnuts in a salad bowl. Toss with dressing and top with feta cheese.
Enjoy!
I'm a HUGE fan of risotto and make a few variations frequently - three-way tomato (fresh tomatoes, tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes), fennel, and leek, being the favorites. I also do a beet risotto, using golden beets though, because I hate the staining of my fingers from the red beets ;-p But this recipe sounds so good I might have to put up with the red fingertips!
I remember your three-way tomato risotto and have tried to replicate it many times! You'll have to share those recipes on seed & bean :)
The tomato risotto recipe is from 'Pacific Flavors: Recipes From the Best Chefs On Canada's West Coast' by Virginia Lee - a gift from a friend when we moved from Vancouver. I just realized I should have picked up an Austin cookbook before we left town :-)