Quinoa Risotto: Creamy, Nutritious & Easy

When most people think of risotto, they think of the classic Italian rice dish, made from slowly cooking arborio rice with hot stock before finishing it with butter and cheese.

However, what many people don't know is that risotto is not just a dish, but actually the name of a cooking method. The risotto method involves the cooking of any grain by slowly adding small amounts of hot stock and stirring, gently coaxing the starch out of the grains. This slow release of starch gives risotto its famous creamy texture.

Risotto can be made not just from rice but also from many other grains such as farro, barley or quinoa. The potential flavor combinations of risotto are endless. Mushrooms, onions, leeks, beets, carrots and squash are just a few vegetables that work wonderfully in risotto. Then, there are plenty of wines, stocks, vinegars, herbs, spices and cheeses that you can use to flavor your grains.

So, in the future, think of risotto less as a static dish and more as a dynamic and wonderfully versatile blank canvas.

About This Roasted Beet and Quinoa Risotto Recipe

This recipe is a little non-traditional, a little labor-intensive, but outrageously tasty. Quinoa is the base grain for the risotto and is flavored with roasted red beets, which have a great natural sweetness and terrific earthy flavor. Onions, garlic, and thyme are other savory additions.

While they cook, the beets leech their juices into the quinoa, making the dish a lovely, if somewhat unusual, shade of purple. After cooking, this risotto is finished with butter and parmesan for richness, goat cheese for tang, balsamic for brightness and acidity and chopped parsley for freshness.

*Note: If you desire, you can substitute golden beets into this recipe, simply swap out the red wine for white and the brown balsamic for white balsamic.

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large red beets, peeled, diced into small cubes
• 6 ounces (170 grams) butter, reserved into two 3-ounce portions
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 cups red quinoa
• 8 sprigs thyme, tied into a bundle with a bit of twine
• cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons brown balsamic vinegar
• cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 ounces (114 grams) goat cheese
• 1 bunch of parsley, picked and chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Bring the stock to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce the heat and leave at a low simmer on a backburner.
• Heat the oil over high heat in a large saute pan. Add the beets and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add 3 ounces of butter, onion, garlic, quinoa and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and cook at medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
• Add the red wine. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until wine is absorbed.
• Ladle the hot stock into the quinoa 1 cup at a time. After every ladle, cook at medium heat while stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Then, add another ladle and repeat. The entire process should take about 20 minutes and the quinoa should be fully cooked and creamy.
• Reduce the heat to low. Remove the bundle of thyme and add the remaining 3 ounces of butter, vinegar, cheeses and parsley. Stir to allow the cheeses and butter to melt.
• Season to taste and serve while hot.