Creamy Beetroot Risotto with Thyme, Feta & Almonds

50 shades of red

Risotto is such a comforting dish - its consistency, creaminess and combination of flavours just makes me want to drink a glass of wine and dig into a warm bowl that’s filled to the brim.

Maybe you had beetroot risotto before as it appears to be a popular dish, but the feta, almonds and thyme give it a bit of a different twist that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I do.

PS: For those who aren’t the biggest beetroot fans - the taste isn’t as strong as you’d expect. Maybe this way of preparing it can be a way for you to get some colour into your system.

(I’ll try serving this to my brother who can’t stand this precious, innocent root vegetable - please cross your fingers that he’ll finish his plate!)

Servings: 4

Total time: 50 min

For this dish

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

a few twigs fresh thyme

1 1/2 cups (300g) risotto rice

4 1/2 cups (1,125 litres) vegetable broth

1/2 cup (125ml) white wine*

500g pre-cooked beetroot

1 cup (100g) parmesan, grated

salt and pepper to taste

*if you prefer to cook this dish without wine, simply replace the liquid with more vegetable broth

serve with

Ingredients

3/4 cup (55g) slivered almonds, toasted

200g feta cheese, crumbled

fresh thyme twigs

fresh pepper

lemon wedges

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil on moderate heat and fry the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Strip the thyme leaves off their stems and add them to the pot. Also add in the risotto rice and fry it for 2 minutes while stirring to prevent it from burning, then pour in the white wine.

2. Finely cube half of the pre-cooked beetroot and puree the other half in a blender. Add both to the pot and season with pepper and salt.

3. Once the wine has been absorbed, add in the vegetable broth 1/2 cup at a time and repeat until no more broth is left; this will take about 25 minutes. Make sure to stir the risotto regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

4. Once the risotto is creamy, lower the heat, add in the parmesan and give it a good stir.

5. To serve, scoop the risotto into bowls, top with some crumbled feta, a small handful of the almonds, fresh pepper and some fresh thyme. Add a splash of lemon for a hint of acidity if you’re into that - I certainly am! I highly recommend serving some white wine along with the dish, it underlines the flavour of the white wine that you cooked with.