Beetroot and Goat’s cheese risotto

I love beetroot and this is a fantastic way to show off its vibrant colour.  This is a very simple recipe to make and is great for a starter or a vegetarian main course. The saltiness of the goat’s cheese work incredibly well with the deep earthy flavours of the beetroot and the addition of the cooking stock adds a wonderful, but subtle sweet and sour notes to the dish.

Well worth a try!!!!!!

Ingredients;

For cooking the beetroot;

3 large beetroot washed well

1.5ltr vegetable stock

100ml red wine

75mlred port

75ml sherry vinegar

60g sugar

Seasoning

6 sheets of gelatine soaked in cold water

For the risotto;

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
250g Aborio rice

150g St Tola Irish goat’s cheese

A handful of fresh thyme, oregano, parsley and chives

Sea salt and fresh black pepper

Method;

For cooking the beetroot;

Place the beetroot, water, red wine, port, sherry vinegar and sugar into a medium size pan.

Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer, simmer the beetroot for 2 hours or until tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the heat and allow the beetroot to cool in the stock. When cool enough to handle peel the beetroot and strain the cooking liquid through a very fine sieve, season to taste. Reserve 800ml of cooking liquid.

For the risotto;

Gently heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and sweat until transparent.  Add the diced beetroot and cook until the beetroot starts to brown (5-10mins over low heat).
Add the Aborio rice and stir until all the grains are coated with oil.

In a seperate pan heat the stock. Add the stock to the rice pan a ladle at a time, gently stirring after each addition until it is absorbed. Continue until the risotto is cooked but retains a slight bite. Just before serving, add the goat’s cheese and herbs and season to taste with salt, pepper