Beetroot and Brown Rice No-Stir Risotto

This is a mish-up of a few of my favourite risotto recipes. You can used pre-cooked beets or just throw fresh beetroot into the oven and cook until tender. After that, you add a few more ingredients then let it simmer away with no stirring. Bonus is the brown rice so extra nutrients...tick!

Ingredients

serves 4

takes 45 minutes to cook risotto but no stirring required

• 4-6 medium/large beetroots, scrubbed and diced into 2cm pieces
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, peeled & roughly chopped
• 4-6 garlic gloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup medium grain brown rice (I use a mix of wild, brown & black rice)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 block feta, crumbled or parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 small lemon, zested - optional but helps break through richness 
• fresh picked thyme leaves and/or chopped parsely, to garnish

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C
2. Dice beetroot into 2cm pieces and throw into a baking dish with seasoning & generous amounts of olive oil. Bake for 20-30 mins until beets are tender. 
3. While beetroot is cooking, add a generous amount of olive oil to a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion & garlic and cook stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes until soft and slightly brown.
4. Add the rice and cook, stirring gently for 5 minutes or until grains are toasted & fragrant.
5. Reduce the heat to low, add the cooked beetroot, stock & 2 cups of water. Simmer uncovered for about 30-45 minutes, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
6. Grate in some lemon zest if using, & break the feta into the risotto, then check your seasoning. Give it  final stir and serve with fresh herbs on top. Enjoy!