This delicious seasonal dish makes the most of these colourful, mid-to-late summer vegetables. Bursting with nutrients this flavourful beetroot risotto uses buckwheat as a filling, protein-packed alternative to rice. Partnered with sautéed mushrooms and spinach for a scrumptious, healthy lunch or dinner.
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 2-4
3-4 large beetroots
3-4 tbsp olive oil
roughly 500ml vegetable stock/ broth (homemade or brought)
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Italian herbs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp sumac
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 bay leaf
1 cup buckwheat (roasted or unroasted)
100ml coconut milk
salt & pepper
A handful of fresh dill & crushed walnuts
A drizzle of coconut milk
Pesto (homemade or brought)
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 180-200º.
- Give you beetroots a good clean, then quater them removing the tops and tails. Place in a bowl and drizzle with about a tbsp of olive oil and season with salt an peper, make sure each peice has a good coating. then place on a baking sheet to roast for around 30 minutes. The beetroots should be soft when peirced with a knife.
- Once roasted add your beetroots to your blender with some of the vegetable stock. blend until a smootie consitence and smooth, do not worry if it is a little runny as this is the base to the risotto most of the liquid will be cooked off. Put this to one side for now.
- Dice the shallot and mince/ finely chop the garlic. Add these to a pan and sauté with a drizzle of oil and a bay lead until soft and turning translucent- do not let them brown as they tend to turn bitter. Add in all spices and the buckwheat then give a good mix together.
- Now add the beetroot/stock combo. If you have made risotto before then treat this in a similar manner – stirring frequently and adding more stock as the risotto thickens up. The buckwheat will take around 15-20 miutes to cook but may vary depending on how hot your pan is and how much you are making.
- For a creamy flavour we add coconut milk (usually from the can, making sure the cream and water are well mixed) once the buckwheat is cooked, along with a tbsp of lemon juice to balance the flavours.
- Fish out the bayleaf and top as you choose, we like to ad a spoonful of pesto, a drizzle of coconut milk, some crushed walnuts and fresh dill.
This super easy little side dish is both delicious and great for you! Mushrooms are packed with a ton of essential vitamins and minerals, while spinach is an extremely nutrient-rich vegetable, with high amounts of carotenoids (which your body turns into vitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium.
INGREDIENTS:
150g of button or field mushrooms
1 bag spinach
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
METHOD:
- Sauté the musrooms in a pan with the oil and garlic powder for 2-3 minutes.
- Next, Add the spinach and water, then place a lid (or a plate!) on the pan to let the spinach wilt. Once the spinach starts to wilt, take it off the heat and season with salt and pepper, the residual heat in the pan will continue to cook it while you do this.
Like this? check out our Carrot Cake Bliss Balls for a healthy desert here!
