Our Beetroot Risotto with Feta and Walnuts recipe is another delicious dish for summer dining, exclusively created by our home economist Amy. It makes the most of seasonal beetroot and is tried and tested by Amy in her own Roundhouse bespoke  kitchen.

In this occasional series, kitchens for serious cooks, this mouthwatering recipe is for you to create in your own designer kitchen. Amy has also put together some top cooking tips for this tasty recipe for owners of  Gaggenau, Miele, or Siemens ovens.

Ingredients 

Serves 4 

• 4-5 x small beetroot
• 35g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large celery stick, finely chopped
• 2 x garlic cloves, crushed
• 175g risotto rice
• 80ml white wine
• 850ml hot vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 50g parmesan, finely grated
• handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• handful mint leaves, finely chopped
• handful dill, finely chopped
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 150g feta cheese, crumbled

To serve

• 2 x handfuls walnuts, toasted
• a handful of pea shoots

Method

1. Begin by cooking the beetroot: trim the leaves from the top of the bunch, then steam the beetroot whole and with skins on, for 35-45 minutes, depending on their size, at 100°C. Sit them on a perforated steel tray, and don’t forget to use the drip tray on the bottom shelf, or the juice from the beetroot will stain the floor of the steam oven and you’ll have to wipe it out!
2. Once cooked and tender to the point of a knife, remove from the steam oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Then rub gently to remove the skins, and cut in to small dice. Set aside until needed.
3. Melt the butter with the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat, then gently sweat the shallots, celery and garlic until translucent and starting to caramelize.
4. Add the rice, stirring well to coat in the butter, then pour in the wine and stir until evaporated and cooked in to the rice.
5. Gradually add ladlefuls of the hot stock, stirring slowly but constantly, making sure that with each addition, the stock cooks in to the rice. Stirring will release the starch from the grains of rice and make the finished risotto extra creamy, so do have patience! This will take around 20-25 minutes.
6. With the last ladleful of stock, add in the diced beetroot and season well.
7. Once cooked, remove from the heat and stir through the grated parmesan. Now add the herbs, most of the feta, reserving some for serving on top, and lemon juice and give one last stir to combine, then cover with the lid and allow to sit off the heat for 5 minutes.
8. Serve with the remaining feta scattered on top and the toasted walnuts and pea shoots to garnish.