Beetroot risotto

Beetroot and ricotta risotto with thyme and pistachios

Recipe and photo by Nanni Baracco.

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 160 gr of Ecorì Classic Carnaroli rice
• one oven-baked beetroot
• oat milk
• extra virgin olive oil
• chilli powder
• two tablespoons of fresh ricotta cheese
• pistachios
• fresh thyme
• butter
• salt
• pepper

Preparation

Prepare the beetroot cream. Peel and cut the previously oven-baked beetroot into small pieces. Put it in an immersion blender cup and add extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of chilli, and fresh thyme leaves. Season with salt and blend, gradually adding oat milk until you get the desired creamy consistency. Heat the beetroot cream in a saucepan, adding a knob of butter and a tablespoon of fresh ricotta, and mix well.

In a pot, pour the Classic Carnaroli rice and toast it dry for a couple of minutes, adding only salt and pepper. Dry toasting allows the rice to retain its consistency best by utilizing the heat of the pot, without adding oil or other fats. In this case, there is no need to deglaze with white wine, as its acidic component would typically degrease the grain before cooking the rice.

Start cooking the rice, adding a ladle of hot water at a time and stirring occasionally. The beetroot, enriched with thyme and chili, is aromatic enough, so the risotto can be cooked without broth. Add the beetroot cream about halfway through cooking, pouring a ladle of broth as needed.

Turn off the heat and let the risotto rest for a minute before creaming, then add a tablespoon of fresh ricotta.

Serve the beetroot and ricotta risotto, adding crumbled pistachios, which add a touch of flavor and crunchiness to the dish.