A light risotto with beets and with a subtle kick of horseradish as a quirky twist to a classic Italian risotto - and served with mini savoury beetroot and horseradish macarons from my book, Mad About Macarons!
400g (14oz)pre-cooked beetroot / beetor 2 small raw beetroots
1tablespoonolive oil
knob of unsalted butter
1onionfinely chopped
1garlic clovefinely chopped
250g (9oz)risotto ricecarnaroli
150g (5.5oz)or glass white wine
800g (1.75 pints)vegetable or chicken stock
60g (2oz)freshly grated parmesan
salt & pepper to taste
2tbspscrème fraîche
2tspshorseradish sauce
Instructions
Wearing rubber gloves to avoid staining your hands, peel and grate the beetroot. (If using raw beetroot, rub on coarse sea salt and wrap them up in aluminium foil and bake at 180°C for 45 minutes and leave to cool.)
Fry the onion in the olive oil and butter over a medium heat until softened (do not brown) for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and stir until softened for another couple of minutes. Add the rice and stir until the grains are all coated and shiny.
Add the wine until it has disappeared into the rice. Gradually add the hot stock, a ladle at a time and stir continuously until each time the stock has soaked in. Cook for 15-17 minutes. After about 10 minutes, stir in the grated beetroot.
When the rice is cooked, stir in the crème fraîche, parmesan and horseradish and take off the heat. Add salt (fleur de sel) and pepper to taste.
Notes
Serve in small pasta bowls, decorate with fresh herbs, more parmesan shavings and a mini beetroot and horseradish macaron (recipe on page 103 of Mad About Macarons!)Pair with a fruity red wine with a hint of spice such as a Médoc, Pinot Noir from Alsace, Côte-du-Rhône - or a chilled rosé from Provence.