BEETROOT & CARROT RISOTTO

This beetroot risotto looked like a winner to me the moment I laid eyes on it. To greatly reduce the calories in this dish, decrease the amount of feta that you use. Michelle Bridges uses 70g reduced-fat feta, whereas if you use the lactose-free and stronger in flavour alternative goat’s cheese feta, you only need to use 25g to make an impact. With regards to 'low-fat' products, I am very wary of these as they usually mean ‘hidden with lots of sugar’. I used carrot instead of celery as I’m not a huge fan of celery in soups or rice dishes. Carrot and beetroot also seem to make more sense as a pair than celery and beetroot. You may also notice in all of my recent recipes that I avoid using onion. This is due to an allergy of my fiancée's, however you can certain add it into almost every recipe of Michelle’s. Just be aware that a medium onion (around 110g) is about 33 calories. 

Ingredients

• 220g beetroot, trimmed, peeled & cut into small cubes 
• 3 1/2 cups low-salt vegetable stock (840ml)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil 
• 1 large carrot, peeled & cut into small cubes (120g)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 175g arborio rice
• 25g goat's cheese feta, crumbled
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (10g)
• 30g baby spinach leaves, washed 

*Please note that the quantities of beetroot & carrot were weighed after peeling.* 

Cooking

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. Add the beetroot cubes and boil until tender, around 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the beetroot. 

2. Meanwhile, prepare the stock. If the stock is cold, pour into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer until needed, covered. If you are making stock from powder, the stock will already be hot as it needs to be made with boiling hot water. 

3. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add oil, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the carrot and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until garlic is soft but not burnt. Add the rice and stir well to coat the vegetables. 

4. Add 1/2 a cup of hot stock to the rice and stir continuously until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to repeat this process until all the stock has been absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender. (If the rice is not tender and the stock is finished, add 1/2 a cup of water at a time to the pan). This will take around 20 minutes. 

5. Remove the rice from the heat, add the cooked beetroot and cover. Let stand for 3 minutes, then remove the lid and stir through 3/4 of the feta and parsley. 

6. Divide the risotto between two serving bowls and sprinkle the remaining feta and parsley on top. Serve warm. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25-30 minutes 

Total Calories per serve / 425 approx. 

x Emily