Beetroot risotto + an idea for leftovers

Even though risotto is now the most frequently featuring item on my blog so far it doesn't mean I eat it all the time! In fact I haven't made any since last time I posted about risotto.


I got inspired to combine Serious Eats' recipe, with some elements of the "rødbederisotto" (beetroot risotto) and "grøddeller" (porridge balls - like meat balls, only with porridge) recipes in the grød (porridge) cookery book, by Lasse Skjønning Andersen.
 

Beetroot risotto

Ingredients, serves 4:

300 g Arborio risotto rice
1 L water (or 1 L stock) - I used boiled water
45 mL (3 tbsp) white wine vinegar
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
200 g (1 cup) cooked and pureed beetroot (cooked with pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp lemon juice)
85 g (3 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
lemon juice (optional)

Method (adapted from Serious Eats) :

Place stock, vinegar, and rice in bowl and swirl round, as described in serious eats' recipe, strain rice through a sieve and leave to drain for 5 minutes.
Melt butter and garlic ( I used setting 6/9) in a big frying pan, add rice and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, add garlic and onion and cook for 1 minute longer.
Add almost all the liquid to frying pan, bring to a simmer, lower hear, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir, then recover and leave for a further 10 minutes, at this stage the rice should be aldente.
Add pureed beetroot and the rest of liquid, increase temperature, and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy, stiring frequently.
Remove from heat, stir in Parmesan and season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Leftover beetroot risotto "waffles"

Ingredients, makes 6:

Leftover risotto (1/3 of the above)
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Fresh herbs, I used 1 tbsp coriander (optional)

Method:

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes in order for the liquid to be absorbed. 
 
Brush top and bottom of waffle-iron with oil, and heat up. Fill the iron 75% to allow for spreading. Cook until waffles are golden, and set in the centre. This took about 10 minutes in my waffle machine, but
 it may take more (or less!)
 
Sandwich with baby gem lettuce, between two slices of bread spread with tahini paste. 

Cauliflower and rice risotto with mushrooms

I had some cauliflower and mushrooms to use up, so I decided to make risotto with these. This recipe as such is nothing new, if you require further directions, see today's inspiration or another recipe I tried a few weeks back.

 

Ingredients, serves 2:

2 tbsp butter and olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
200 g cauliflower, processed to "rice" in a food processor
100 g risotto-rice
3/4 L vegetable stock
15 ml (1 tbsp) white wine vinegar
200 g mushrooms, cut into pieces

 

Directions

• Heat vegetable stock on a ring, to keep it warm.

• Melt butter and oil and fry onion over low heat for a few minutes until translucent and soft.
• Add garlic, salt, peper and rosemary and fry for a minute.
• Add rice and cauliflower and stir until coated.
• Increase heat, add a ladle of stock and keep stirring until absorbed
• At this point you may want to cook the mushrooms in a non-stick frying pan, I find that I don't need oil as the lovely mushroom juices can manage well on their own. It takes about 15 minutes for them to become soft, at which point they also ooze liquid. Remember to stir, to avoid sticking.
• Continue adding a ladle of stock at a time, stirring until the rice is almost aldente.
• Add white wine vinegar, season to salt and pepper.
• You may want to add cheese, when I do i just tend to add Emmental.

Serve with the cooked mushrooms on top, or mix them in.