Golden Beet Risotto with Mushrooms
I experienced my first tornado warning last week in Denton, Texas, and we were all quite shaken up. First we had hail the size of golf balls and we ran around trying to save the garden bed from being destroyed. A few minutes later it was hot and sunny and tropically humid. Then in a flash the sky turned dark and off went the eerie wailing of the tornado sirens, meaning that one had touched down. Car alarms started going off all up and down the block and the hail and rain came down again relentlessly. We pulled the curtains and ran into the closet with a futon pulled over us and waited. Luckily the storm passed without much damage besides some fallen trees and car windshields broken from the hail, and again out came the eerily bright sun as the temperatures began to drop steadily. The next day was cool and sunny. A truly beautiful North American spring day. I felt like we needed to eat something grounding and comforting after all the chaos so I decided to use the golden beets I had to make a risotto. This recipe was inspired by Emily, who used to always make this delicious red beet risotto with goat cheese that turns this incredibly deep wine color. But working with what I had I decided to go for it with the golden beets, and to throw in some mushrooms as well. Turned out delicious and hearty and the perfectly soothing meal after such a hectic day prior. You could definitely use red beets if you don’t have golden beets and skip the mushrooms if you’d like. This recipe makes about 6 bowls. Again thanks to Stephanie for the photos! You can see more of her work here.
Ingredients
6 cups broths, I again used the powdered “no chicken broth” (6 cups water to 3/8 cups broth)
1 cup shredded Parmesan,I used real Parmesan and added the rind to my broth
1 ½ cup chopped mushrooms
Salt and pepper
First scrub your beets and use a paper towel to wipe clean mushrooms. Cut beets into small easy-to-bite chunks, and try to keep the size consistent. Slice mushrooms, and chop your shallots. Drizzle the bottom of your stockpot in olive oil over medium/high heat and then throw in your shallots and sweat for a few minutes. Add a bit of salt and watch that they are becoming translucent. While the onions are sweating combine your water and broth (or boxed broth, or just water!) in another pot over medium heat. Cut off the rind of your Parmesan and toss into the broth or water for extra rich flavoring.
Next toss your chopped beats in with the shallots with a tablespoon of butter. After one minute or so throw in your mushrooms and the rest of the butter and cook for a few more minutes. Once everything is thoroughly coated in butter throw in the rice and make sure that it is coated in oil and butter as well, stirring for another minute. Next add in the wine and stir until absorbed. Now add in the broth, one cup at a time, stirring to prevent burning and adding in the next cup only when the last has been absorbed. You can try the consistency of your risotto and test that the rice is al dente and stop adding broth when you find it to your liking. I ended up using a little less than 5 of the cups of broth until I found it was just creamy enough. Save your extra broth in the fridge or freezer. When you are about done toss in the cup of grated Parmesan and a little salt and pepper and top with lots of picked parsley!
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