Creamy Beet Risotto with Blue Cheese Crumbles

Creamy beet risotto with Blue Cheese Crumbles is the best of both worlds. Velvety al dente aborio rice slow cooked with subtle veggie-sweet beet infused chicken stock and topped with sharp, creamy blue cheese.

Course Side Dishes

Cuisine Italian

Keyword beet risotto, creamy italian rice, naturally dyed food

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings to 6 servings

Calories 632kcal

Author Lauren

Ingredients

5 ½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock for vegetarian version
2 small beets peeled and cut in ½" cubes
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 ½ cup aborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup parmesan fresh grated
½ cup blue cheese crumbles

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan, bring chicken stock and beets to boil, covered. Once boiling reduce heat to medium-high and cook until beets are soft.
Using a hand blender, or by transferring beets and chicken stock to a blender, purée until smooth. Return to the sauce pan, over low heat. Continue to heat the beet-chicken stock mixture over the lowest heat setting while building the risotto.
In a deep sided skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots for 1 minute before adding the garlic. Cook for 1 additional minute, stirring frequently.
Add aborio rice to the pan and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, letting the rice soak up the flavors of the shallot and garlic.
Carefully pour white wine into the pan and continue to stir until all the wine is absorbed.
Lower the heat to medium and add in chicken stock 1 cup at a time. Stirring continuously until completely absorbed before adding the next cup of stock. This is the most important step. The slow addition of the warm chicken stock helps to develop the starches in the rice, which gives risotto it's creaminess.
During the cooking process season the rice with salt and pepper. Adjust the quantity of salt based on taste and chicken stock (typically store bought chicken stock is already salted.)
Risotto should be al dente¹ after the addition of the final chicken stock.
Once the last of the chicken stock has been incorporated and absorbed, turn the heat off. Stir in butter and parmesan cheese. Top with blue cheese crumbles and serve immediately.

Notes

¹Al dente means the rice should have a bite to it, but still be cooked through. If you take a bite and hard pie es of rice get stuck in your teeth, the rice needs more cooking time.

²If you are planning to cook for a crowd later but want to prep in advance, the risotto can be partial cooked and then finished right before service. Cook the risotto, but stop halfway through the addition of the chicken stock. Remove from heat and spread in a single layer on a large sheet pan. Let cool until your ready to finish. Beet infused chicken stock should be warmed again to finish the creamy beet risotto.

Nutrition