Mar 14, 2010

Challenging myself : Daring Cooks' March Challenge Balsamic Roasted Beetroot Risotto


The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

This was a hard Challenge. Not the cooking of the Risotto, not the time and the mood. The Children are sick again. I myself have a horrible case of bronchitis and since I have Lung problems  and not a full functioning Lung this sucks.

All this I tell you because if I become this sick I usually are unable to taste anything. It`s like chocking down cardboard.

This means I had to wait until the last minutes in the hopes that I would feel better and make a good risotto.

We eat Risotto a lot. Especially in the Summer months my husband and I love to eat a hot Risotto with a sharp fresh Salad from the Garden.

I adore herbs and so it`s no wonder the Risotto we cook most is only favoured with Rosemary. Closely followed by Basil and Parsley.

If we want something different that looks amazing we love a Radicchio Risotto with a fresh Tomato salad.

You see why we usually cook Risotto in the Summer. We use what we find in our Garden.

It`s Winter and I wanted to do something different.

I still have Beetroot in the basement and I adore them Roasted with Balsamic vinegar so this is what I used.






But first I made a chicken stock. This too is nothing new in my kitchen. Since a lot of people in our families have allergies and some are lactose-intolerant I only use homemade stock.

As you can see on the picture I use a real boiling hen, this is the way to go if you want a real tasty stock.


 

For the Risotto I roasted peeled and cut beets sprinkled with Balsamic vinegar for a hour in the oven (200°C).  Half of the Beets I cut into small  cubes, the same size of the diced red onion. The rest of the Beets I pureed into the chicken stock. 


This Risotto is on the sweet side so I used a dollop of Crème fraiche, a lot of Black Pepper and some fresh chives to cut through.

Give it a try and tell me what you think. Now go over to the Daring Bakers Side and look at the amazing thing they did and also get the lovely DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPES HERE!.



28 comments:

Jenn said...

Love the addition of beetroot! I need to start cooking with beets more, but it sounds fantastic and the balsamic, crème fraiche and chives sound like they would all merry together wonderfully!

Audax said...

Balsamic vinegared beetroot risotto!!! what a treat and the colour is amazing and the taste would be stunning I bet. Sorry to hear you are ill I hope you became well very soon. And the addition of chives sounds perfect. Fabulous step-by-step photographs also. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

pigpigscorner said...

Love the colour of the risotto. What a coincidence we cooked something similar =)

Löu said...

Huuuum.
It would be absolutely delicious with the Balsamic. I love it and mix it with Beetroot... what a good idea :)
Nice challenge !

Denise said...

Beautiful color! Hope it was as comforting as it looks and you are feeling better. Happy Spring!

Unknown said...

The color is gorgeous! I'm starting to wish I would have been a bit more adventurous and made my risotto more like this :)

VeganPower said...

I had this idea too, but I did not want red, a little afraid of the result! Finally, it is more original is pretty!

blepharisma said...

Wow! The colour is amazing, and it does sound like it would be different from the average risotto. It must be frustrating to be sick when trying to cook - you can't even taste your own masterpiece!

Anonymous said...

I adore the color of your risotto! Unfortunately, I don't really like beetroot, but it does sound interesting!

Evelyne @ CheapEthnicEatz said...

Wow what an interesting recipe with beetroot. Very appetizing. hope everyone feels better soon.

Asha @ FSK said...

WOW! what an great flavor idea!! I am not a beet fan but that luscious color is just making me want to like them :))

chef_d said...

Cooking with fresh herbs from your garden in the summer sounds wonderful. The color of your risotto is pretty :)

Heather Mulholland said...

Thank you for the wonderful comment you left on my blog. The idea of balsamic beetroot makes me want to drool lol The colour is really incredible!

Hope you had as much with the challenge as I did :)

S. said...

I think I'll make this risotto for my partner and her Lithuanian family!!!

Halfandhalfs said...

The beets give the risotto a beautiful color!

innBrooklyn said...

I love roasted beets so this sounds really fantastic! I'm also trying to collect stock making tips from everyone since mine was a bit bland so glad to see yours here: thanks!!

Lisa said...

WOW..the color of your risotto is so vibrant and lovely. Although not a huge fan of beets..I've been trying to get into them because they make the prettiest dishes lol Beautifully done to creamy perfection!

Care said...

Balsamic roasted beets...sounds heavenly! Beautiful color and looks delicious!

TaGa_Luto said...

First, i hope you and your family are feeling better.

Second, Love the color of your risotto. I like the balsamic, beets combination.

Team Rose said...

Wow! That sounds like a great combination - I reckon the creme fraiche and black pepper (a lot, as you said!) would have really set it off! Mmmm...might have to try this one I think.

Thanks for the comment on our blog - it really was delicious!
Team Rose
Sydney, Australia

Oggi said...

It's a lovely combination and I love the color red too!:)

Lo said...

Beet risotto is such a delight. I love your addition of creme fraiche to the final product.

I'm also loving the fact that you seem to be as big a fan of rosemary as I am!

Lovlie said...

Beetroot risotto! I've never tried that. I love beetroot very much, I will definitely give this one a go next time I'm making risotto!

Valérie said...

That's so original! And the colour is so pretty!Way to go!

Kris Ngoei said...

It is very appealing, love the color and I am sure the taste too :-)

A clever interpretation of the challenge! Beetroot, who would have thought of that?

Sawadee from Bangkok,
Kris

NKP said...

Yum! I love beets and balsamic - the colour is wonderful! So vibrant and alive. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Candice said...

Ooh, beetroot! Great idea.

And I hope your bronchitis is nearly over by now. I know how frustrating that can be!

Barbara Bakes said...

My daughter love roesmary. She would love your rosemary version. That a pretty color!