Crashing Dinner at Brita’s - Golden Beet & Blue Cheese Risotto

I stopped by Brita’s place the other day and she had made this for their dinner. I picked the perfect time to arrive at her house and she dished me up the first bowl :). SO GOOD! This is from her new cookbook which I don’t recall the name of, but its something like a pot for everyday or something like that… I do know its Williams-Sonoma, so yes, its delicious! I stole the recipe and I plan on making it maybe even tonight still… we’ll see

Golden Beet & Blue Cheese Risotto:

3/4 lb golden or pink beets

salt and freshly ground pepper

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 crumbled blue cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Put the beets in a baking dish with water to cover the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the beets are tender when pierced with a fork, 40-60 minutes. Uncover and let cool. Cut off the beet tops and root ends. Peel the beets and cut into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt.

In a saucepan, bring the broth to a gentle simmer over medium heat and maintain over low heat.

In a large, heavy pot, melt 2 tbsp of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add the rice a stir until translucent and coated with butter, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed. Add a ladleful of the broth and simmer vigorously, stirring often, until the liquid is almost absorbed. Add another ladleful of broth. Continue simmering, stirring, and adding more broth until thee rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the beets and heat through, about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp butter and the cheeses. Let stand for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.