BEET AND BEET GREENS RISOTTO

The Best of Bridge franchise is well-known for recipes that incorporate canned soup into recipes as a quick way to create rich saucy entrées. In Sunday Suppers, the new recipe crew shakes off some of that dusty thinking with a veggie forward take on a traditional risotto. This is not your grandmother’s rice. This brilliant red risotto uses the beet greens as well as the root veggies, wilting the greens into the finished dish along with chunks of soft goat cheese, which partly melts into the mix.

Makes: 4 servings

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 cup (250 mL) Arborio rice 3 to 4 cups (750 mL to 1 L) chicken broth, warmed, divided 1 large beet, roasted or boiled and peeled, then coarsely grated or finely chopped

1 cup (250 mL) chopped or torn beet greens

1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup (125 mL) crumbled soft goat cheese

Salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until coated with oil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add about 1/2 cup (125 mL) stock and cook, stirring, until liquid is absorbed. Add beet and another 1/2 cup (125 mL) stock; cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed.

Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring often (no need to stir constantly) until liquid is absorbed. When you’ve incorporated about 3 cups (750 mL) stock, the mixture should be creamy and the rice soft but still slightly firm to the bite. If it still has a crunchy core, add a little more stock and keep cooking.

Add beet greens and Parmesan cheese with the last addition of stock. When the mixture is creamy-looking and the rice is tender but not mushy, add goat cheese, salt and pepper, stirring just to swirl the cheese into the risotto without allowing it to melt completely. Serve immediately.