Beet Risotto and Charlie Sexton: The Last Week of Sola Gratia Farm 2012
The LAST week of Sola Gratia---I will miss those boxes so much! I was happy to see a handful of beets in this box, along with beautiful greens and onions. For some reason risotto came to mind. I've rarely made risotto so I don't particularly know what I'm doing but I figured it was worth a try....and was it ever!
I perused a handful of recipes online and came up with this.
Beet Risotto
2 cups of Arborio rice
1 large yellow onion, minced
3-4 medium sized red beets, peeled and grated
splash of white wine if you'd like
6-7 cups chicken broth (I diluted a carton of chicken broth--which was 4 cups to bring it up to a bit over 6 and warmed it in a separate pan)
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onions til soft, then add in grated beets with a bit of salt. Saute about 10 minutes until tender. If it gets too dry add a splash of white wine and let it cook away. Take half of the beet/onion mixture and set aside.
Add rice, stir to combine and then add hot chicken broth a ladle or two at a time, stirring after each addition until it is absorbed. When the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is soft with just a bit of bite at the center, then stir in the remaining beets/onion and the cheese. It was sweet and delicate and warm and rosey! I loved it and nibbling on the freshly grated beets gave me ideas for more beet recipes too! We served this with roast chicken and some of that gorgeous Swiss chard just quickly wilted.
Whenever I said "beet risotto" out loud all I could hear in my mind was Charlie Sexton doing "Beat So Lonely." I don't think Ernie was amused because he kept trying to come up with other "Beat" songs but none of them fit as well....
What a wonderful experience Sola Gratia has been for us this year...and for so many others I believe. When we get the final donation total for the season I will chime in again! Thanks to anyone that has read these recipes and maybe even tried one! It has been great fun....