Red Beet Risotto (take from Rachael Ray website):
Ingredients
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 5 tablespoons EVOO
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 2 baseball-size red or golden beets, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 small yellow or red onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry red wine if using red beets or dry white wine if using golden beets
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a medium pot, warm the broth over medium heat. In a large, deep skillet or a medium Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons EVOO, 3 turns of the pan, over medium to medium-high heat. Stir in the rice to coat with the oil, and toast for 2 minutes. Add the beets, onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook until absorbed into the rice, then begin adding broth a couple of ladles at a time, stirring with each addition, until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Comments: This beet risotto was a smash! The sweet-savory flavor of the beets was simply divine. Make sure you don't overcook the rice, as it will congeal into a sloppy mess. The beets already will give the risotto a gelatinous sheen, so overcooking the rice will make it that much worse.
Eggplant Stacks with Roasted Tomatoes over Chicken Thigh (also taken from Rachael Ray website):
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 8 chicken breast cutlets
- Leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 8 slices
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- One 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
- 1 pound smoked mozzarella, sliced into 8 pieces
- 8 basil leaves, torn
Directions
1. Preheat a grill pan or countertop grill to high. Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 250°. Combine the vinegar and 2 tablespoons EVOO on a plate and coat the chicken with it. Sprinkle with the rosemary, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Pour 1/4 cup EVOO into a small dish. Using a pastry brush, paint the eggplant slices on both sides with the oil; season with salt and pepper.
3. Grill the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, then place in the oven to keep warm. Grill the eggplant until tender, about 10 minutes. Add to the chicken.
4. While the chicken and eggplant cook, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and crushed red pepper; cook until the onion is tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and heat through; season with salt and pepper.
Comments: You may want to try and replace the crushed tomatoes with store-bought tomato sauce, as the tomato taste is a little overpowering. But this is easily one of my favorite eggplant dishes.
