Week 9: Beet Risotto!

Week 9
6 oz. China Rose Radish Microgreens
6 oz. Lettuce Mix
1 bunch Bull Blood Beets
1 bunch Lady Slipper Radish
1 bunch Red Russian Kale
1 bunch Tokyo Long White Bunching Onions
1 bunch Parisienne Carrots
1 small bag Green Beans (Roma AND Royal Burgundy)

This week we received two new veggie varieties--beets and green beans! We are also still receiving a large bag of radish microgreens. Instead of telling myself I'll fit them in, I gave up and just gave them away this week (Good luck, Jess =)).

This week I tried two of the recipes included in the weekly BUG Farms update. The first was beet risotto. Now, in the back of my mind I knew risotto was timing consuming and included some sort of drudgery. Somehow, I forgot this as I was skimming the recipe and deciding it would be a good idea to start this for a late dinner. Once I got through the chopping, this fact was quickly jumped to the front of my mind--constant stirring! Adding the water a half a cup at a time! Only having brown rice on hand did not help my outlook. 20 minutes in, I stole away from the "constant stirring" and googled "Why do I need to stir risotto?" Apparently, the stirring gives the dish a creamy texture with each rice grain "perfectly cooked." Failing to stir constantly will give the dish a more of a pilaf character. So I did my best at stirring constantly, with only a few breaks. It was a long night, but it turned out quite well.

Lessons learned this week:
1) Beets are beautiful!
2) Risotto requires constant stirring (almost).
3) Quality photography is difficult and sort of important for a quality/aesthetically pleasing blog. I will keep trying (sort of).
4) I use a lot of knives.
5) Long carrots are nice.
6) Radish microgreens are a lost cause.A bad picture of the final product. Its actually quite purple and less "shiny."=)

Beet Risotto

1 small onion, diced
3 medium beets with greens
4 C boiling water
4 T butter
1 C long-grain brown rice
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan
1 T horseradish

1. Trim beet leaves and wash in cool water. Cut greens and stems into 1/2-inch wide slices. Peel and dice beets.
2. In saucepan over medium heat, cook onion in butter until clear colored.
3. Add beets and stems. Cook while stirring for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in rice and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Stir in 1 C water and simmer until absorbed.
5. Stir in beet greens. Continue to cook adding 1/2 C water at a time while constantly stirring until all water is absorbed. It is ready when rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente. This will take ~45-60 minutes.
6. Remove from pan and stir in cheese and horseradish.