Risotto Revisited

Roasted Beet, Pea, and Goat Cheese Risotto

This recipe is a little more time consuming than the other risotto recipe I posted a few days ago, mainly because I needed to roast the beets first. It came out very good and I think I like it better than the other one! This recipe would be perfect around Christmas time because of the colors, bright fuchsia and green.

The other day when I was at the grocery store buying the rice for the risotto I happened to get Carnaroli rice instead of the regular Arborio rice which is frequently used to make risotto and much more common. Come to find out, Carnaroli rice is considered one of the finest rices used to make risotto, sometimes referred to as "the caviar of rice," and is the preferred rice of Italian chefs. Carnaroli rice, like Arborio rice, is an Italian white rice grown in the Piedmonte and Lombardy regions of Italy. Carnaroli and Arborio rices are in the same family but the Carnaroli grain is shorter and plumper. When cooked it has a creamy texture with the inner germ kernel remaining firm.

Ingredients:
3 large beets (probably at least 1 lb), cleaned and chopped-I chopped each beet into 8 equal pieces
thyme
salt and pepper
1.5 cups Carnaroli rice
3 cans vegetable broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
1 T butter
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup Parmesan
4 oz goat cheese
Italian parsley chopped

1. To roast the beets, divide the chopped beets into 2 equal portions. Place 1/2 of the beets in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Fold up the aluminum foil to make a sealed pouch. Repeat the procedure with the other half of the beets. Place pouches on a cookie sheet and cook in the oven at 450 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until cooked (times will depend on the size of the beet chunks). Once the beets are done, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Make sure to reserve any beet juice that is with the beets. When you can handle the beets, remove the outer skin and chop into bite size pieces (I think I chopped each piece into one or two pieces). It was at this point that I learned that Oliver likes roasted beets!

Once the beets have been prepared, start making the risotto.

2. Combine 2 T olive oil and 1 T butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Let cook 2-3 minutes. Add rice and toss to coat each grain with oil. Once you have "toasted" the rice, add the reserved beet juice and the wine. Let the alcohol cook off for 1-2 minutes.

3. Start adding the broth ladle by ladle (probably in 1/2 cup increments) to the risotto making sure to allow the liquid to be mostly absorbed before adding more (I used all three cans of vegetable broth in total and it came out perfect). Once all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, add the peas, chopped beets, and Parmesan. Toss gently. Crumble the goat cheese on top of individual servings and garnish with chopped parsley.

Enjoy!