Risotto with beets, chard, and brown and wild rice
I have a long standing tradition of welcoming guests with risotto.
Last holiday season we welcomed a friend and colleague and a healthy foodie, and decided I wanted to give a healthier version a try. I decided to try my hand at tweaking rice to make it healthier, and to use goat cheese, which is more easily assimilated by your body than the Parmesan cheese made from cows milk.
I added freshly cooked beets and chopped swiss chard, two late autumn/winter veggies. Instead of arborio rice, known for its starch and therefore creamy texture, I used short grain brown rice, with a bit of long grain wild black rice thrown in, making it a healthier choice.
The results were not only gorgeous, but delicious. I loved the goat cheese flavor, and this vegetarian meal was a well balanced meal in one. I think you will approve too…
Preparation
1. Cook black, wild rice according to directions. Roast the beets ahead of time, and slice and dice your greens and onions.
2. Bring vegetable stock to simmer in a saucepan behind your dutch oven or frying pan you’re using for the risotto.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan or dutch oven and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add brown rice, and stir until rice begins to crackle.
4. Add 3 ladles of broth (which is now warm) and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to add ladles of broth as it cooks down. Do not allow the rice to get too dry, and stir constantly. After about 15 minutes, test rice for bite. If it tastes al-dente, add in the vegetables.
5. Stir in the greens, the diced beets and cooked black wild rice and continue adding more stock, enough to barely cover the rice, and stirring often, for another 10 to 15 minutes. The rice should be chewy but not hard in the middle – and definitely not soft like steamed rice. If it is still hard in the middle, you need to continue adding stock and stirring for another 5 minutes or so.
6. When the rice is cooked through, add your wine and stir. Add in goat cheese and stir. Remove from the heat.
The risotto should be creamy; if it isn’t, add a little more stock. Stir once, taste and adjust for seasonings, and add salt and pepper if desired.
