Red Risotto

Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of September at Williamson, so naturally our Cork to Fork will feature and highlight its body, depth and character! This week we have a twist on a classic: risotto. But not just any risotto – RED risotto! What’s normally an ivory paradise of carbs turns dark with the addition of our Cabernet and…of all things…beets! Let’s dig in!

Ingredients:
3 cups of beets, skinned and chopped for roasting
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup Williamson Cabernet Sauvignon
1.5 quarts of chicken stock
2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup white onion, small dice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
*****

Start by preheating your oven to 400, throw your chopped beats onto a baking sheet, douse in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast until fork tender – about 30 minutes. After roasting beets, remove from your sheet pan and place into a blender with your stock. Blend until completely smooth and no remnants of beet remain. Your stock will froth up a bit and turn a vibrant magenta color – so fun!

In a large skillet or pot, start sweating out your onion in some olive oil with a bit of salt. Once they turn translucent, add in your garlic and wait until it becomes fragrant. Once it does – add in your arborio rice! Let your rice get warm and saucy with the olive oil before adding in your Cabernet.* TIP: if you remember from a few weeks back, risotto requires lots of stirring. Arborio rice is a granule dense with starch, and stirring it helps release that starch which in turn makes it creamy and delicious. When you add liquid to the rice, stir stir stir and just when you think you’re done stirring – you’re going to stir some more. You’ll repeat the stirring process after each addition of liquid until the granule soaks it up.

Once your rice has absorbed most of the wine and its looking a little dry – add in your stock/beet puree. Repeat this step until your rice has a nice toothsome to it – not crunchy enough to get stuck in your molars, but not overcooked that it’s mushy and loses its texture. For me, this required about a quart and a half of stock. You’ll need to govern this by tasting along the way. If you need to add more, just add it. If it’s plain chicken or vegetable stock – fret not – your risotto will still be a vibrant red.

Once your risotto is cooked, silky smooth, creamy, all that jazz – add in your freshly grated parmesan cheese. This will add a component of salt, so refrain from salting your dish until after adding in the cheese.

We served this with some spicy sausage. The spice balanced out the subtle sweetness the beets brought to the dish and wow – it was a winner. You could of course serve this with steak or chicken or roasted vegetables, it’s incredibly diverse and flexible to suit any palette.

We hope you enjoy this showstopping red risotto – the perfect dish to ease into fall with! See you next week on Cork to Fork!