T his shortcut risotto will have purists shaking their fists, but I like to live dangerously. Unlike traditional risottos where you stir the whole time, this one gets bunged in the oven with all its liquid, then right at the end, use a whisk to release the starches for a creamy finish.
Use a microplane to grate the parmesan over the risotto. This will yield a cloud-like consistency, but you could also just blitz the parmesan to a crumb in the food processor before grating the veg. I’d avoid buying pre‑grated parmesan, as it’s kept crumby with anti-caking agent, and the aroma is … not great.
For extra flavour, use vegetable or chicken stock instead of water. And if you have herbs growing in the garden, some parsley, chives or even chervil won’t go astray.
Grate, bake ‘n’ shake beet risotto – recipe
Serves 4
Chop and stir 10 minutes
Set and forget 30 minutes
1 brown onion, peeled and quartered
1 beetroot, topped and tailed, scrubbed and quartered (about 200g)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1–2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
250g uncooked carnaroli or arborio rice (1 heaped cup)
125ml white wine (½ cup)
2 vegetable or chicken stock cubes
2 bay leaves
¼ bunch dill, stems finely chopped, half the fronds roughly chopped (reserve the remaining fronds for garnishing)
60g finely grated parmesan or pecorino
To finish
4 tbsp mascarpone or sour cream
Finely grated parmesan or pecorino
Dill fronds (reserved from above)
35g slivered pistachios (¼ cup, optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Oven goes on Preheat your oven to 240C/220C fan
Grate the veg Grate the onion and beetroot using a box grater or the coarsest setting of your food processor. Chop up any chunkier bits.
Start your base Glug the olive oil and half the butter into a shallow flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Dump in the grated veg and the garlic and stir about until you hear a sizzle. Whack the lid on and set the timer for six minutes, stirring halfway. Meanwhile, bring a kettle of water to the boil.
When the onion and beetroot have softened and released a sweet aroma, stir in the rice and toss vigorously for a few minutes for the rice to get toasty and turn a provocative shade of pink.
Splash in wine and stock Splash in the wine and crumble in the stock cubes. Let it all bubble for another minute to break up the stock cubes and cook out the booziness of the wine.
Bay ’n’ bake Stir the bay leaves and dill stems through the rice, then pour in one litre (four cups) of the just-boiled kettle water, which will boil and bubble again in no time. Whack the lid back on, carefully transfer to the middle of the hot oven and set the timer for 12 minutes.
Take a whisk Pull the pan out of the oven. Remove the bay leaves, then whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter, along with the parmesan.
Continue whisking for a minute or two, whipping the lot into a frenzy. As you whip, the extra liquid in the pan will be absorbed and react with the starch in the rice and the fat in the cheese and butter, to encourage a silky, creamy texture.
Put the lid back on and leave for another 12 minutes to let the risotto rest. Taste for seasoning, then give a final stir.
Bring it home Spoon the risotto on to plates with a lip. Top each with a spoonful of mascarpone, an extra grating of parmesan or pecorino, dill fronds and some pistachios if you have them. Finish with freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of your best olive oil.
This is an edited extract from Weeknights with Alice by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Rochelle Eagle, available now through Murdoch Books (AU$49.99)
