Roasted Beet Risotto!

Hey Divas, so I've often blogged about the wonders of risotto, a dish I love to make. I inherited this affection from my mother, the Original Diva. When I was a kid, she ventured to Italy for the first time and returned with this wondrous recipe, the likes of which I'm about to share with you. It was Roasted Beet Risotto. These potent little suckers pack a huge nutritional punch and turn the risotto an unbelievable deep purple hue that has to be seen to be believed. You can follow the basic recipe to make risotto as the beets are only added at the end. This is a dish so delicious it could even convince President Obama to eat beets! So without further ado, here's my recipe!

Roasted Beet Risotto

4 beets
1 tsp thyme
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
2 shallots chopped
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade - click here for my crock pot chicken stock recipe)
1 cup parmesan reggiano, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the greens off the beets and set them on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle them with 1 tbsp of olive oil, then sprinkle with the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Then, fold them up in aluminum foil and roast them for 40 minutes, or until soft. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Then, remove the skins and chop them.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the shallots, sauteing until translucent, about 8 min. Then add the rice and stir for about 1 minute. Add the white wine, stirring until absorbed by the rice. Add the chicken broth 1/2 a cup at a time until fully absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Finally, when the rice is cooked al dente, add the chopped beets, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!