1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1-2 golden beetroot - cooked & grated (Oamaru Organics)
1 peeled carrot – grated (Ettrick Gardens)
3 full celery sticks - thinly cut, saving the leaves for garnish (Oamaru Organics)
1 onion - thinly cut (Ettrick Gardens)
2-3 cloves garlic - crushed (Te Mahanga)
2 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil (Dunford Grove)
2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 cup white wine
1 pinch of saffron - added to the warm stock.
1- 2 litres of good vegetable stock heated
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
Meat Version:
1 Tbsp olive oil (Dunford Grove)
Bacon hock (Havoc Farm Pork)
Grated parmesan
Vegan Version:
1 block of fresh tempeh (Marie’s)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil (Dunford Grove)
Fresh black pepper
1 tbsp sriracha sauce
Using a heavy based pan, add olive oil, heat, then add garlic, celery, and onions, and sauté until soft. Add the oregano and yeast, then the rice, cook off for 4 to 5 minutes. Once the rice has started to colour, start adding in the wine a little bit at a time until all the liquid has gone. Then add the hot saffron stock, only 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to make sure all the liquid has gone. The rice will need to be just cooked before adding in the beetroot and carrots. Cook for a further 5 minutes, you may need to add more stock at this point, as the vegetables can sometimes dry out the risotto.
Serving the risotto with meat: I fried off some of the leftover bacon hock meat (from the Bacon Hock Soup recipe) in 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a hot pan and sprinkled it over the hot risotto, garnishing with celery leaves and grated parmesan.
Serving the risotto Vegan: I used Marinated tempeh: Mix all ingredients in a bowl except tempeh. Cut the tempeh into thin slices and add the marinade, leave for a couple hours then drain and fry off in a hot pan, sprinkle it over the risotto and garnish with celery leaves.
Note: Freeze any leftover risotto for another day, Chef Amy has a plan for next week!
Recipe by: Amy Dougherty