Healthy Food
Vegetarian risotto recipe with beetroot and fennel
On the hunt for a new vegetarian risotto recipe? Well look no further than our autumnal offering here. With an array of seasonal veggies and flavours, it’s as nourishing as it is comforting. Delicious!
Beetroot is perfect for adding a burst of colour to your dinner plate. Not only that, these powerful purple veggies are teeming with wellbeing wins. Beetroots are a good source of fibre, as well as manganese and potassium. They’re also a rich source of antioxidants, helpful for mopping up damaging free radicals in the body. Plus, they can support gut health. Beetroots have a rich source of glutamine. This amino acid is incredibly helpful in supporting the health of our gut.
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Wellbeing Wisdom
Fennel is often described as a ‘superfood’ due to the fact it’s low in calories and a good source of fibre, vitamin C and antioxidants. It also contains magenisium, potassium and calcium, which all help to contribute to good heart health.
Ingredients
- 500g raw beetroot, peeled and sliced into 2cm-thick wedges
- 2 fennel, 1 sliced into cm wedges, 1 finely chopped, fronds to garnish
- 15g bunch thyme
- Glug of rapeseed oil
- 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 300g carnaroli risotto rice
- 150ml white wine
- 1.2L vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 15g dill, roughly chopped
- Vegetarian hard cheese, to serve
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the pangrattato
- Glug of rapeseed oil
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 50g almonds, roughly chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Put the beetroot and the sliced fennel in to a large roasting tin anddrizzle with oil. Add thyme and roast for 45 minutes until caramelised and tender.
- In a large frying pan, add a glug of oil. Add the shallots and the remaining chopped fennel and garlic, and fry over a low to medium heat for five minutes until starting to soften. Add the rice and cook for one to two minutes until the rice turns translucent.
- Turn the heat up and add the wine. Simmer for three to four minutes until the wine has reduced, then turn down the heat to low to medium. Start adding the stock a ladle at a time. Stir the risotto and season with salt and pepper. Keep adding the stock until the rice is almost tender; about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small non-stick pan, heat a glug of oil and add the breadcrumbs. Fry for a minute on a medium heat until they start to turn golden. Add the chopped almonds and fry, stirring regularly for one or two minutes until crunchy and golden. Season, then set aside for later.
- When the rice is almost tender, stir the crème fraîche and lemon juice through it. Simmer until tender. Loosen with more stock if too thick – the rice should flow. Stir in half of the vegetables to turn the risotto pink.
- To serve, stir in half of the dill, then spoon the risotto on to plates and top with the remaining roasted vegetables. Scatter the almond breadcrumbs over the top and garnish with the remaining dill, reserved fennel frond and hard chees, if you like.
