This recipe is going to rock your world.
I’m not even joking.
Who wants to spend hours (OK, I know it’s not hours) standing over the stove stirring and stirring and stirring to get that creamy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency of this traditional Italian dish when you can use my simple health food hack to get glorious results in a fraction of the time. As an added bonus, this beautiful recipe provides you a healthy and satisfying meal for the gang?
My Easy Roasted Beet Risotto is one of the most delicious risottos you’ll ever taste. And, it’s not only the cooking method that’s genius, this vibrant dish is also loaded with healthy ingredient swaps that redefine risotto – elevating it to superfood status.
Instead of refined, white arborio rice, I’m using short-grain brown rice (fibre fibre!). And, instead of soup stock, butter, wine and cheese, this risotto gets its creamy texture from a blend of full-fat coconut milk and soft, sweet roasted beets. That’s right, it’s a dairy free risotto! (I can hear the gasps coming all the way from Naples).
Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about fibre for a quick second shall we?
Most people aren’t getting enough fibre on a daily basis. Consuming fibre-rich foods is one of the best ways to fill you up (balancing blood sugar), reduce excess cholesterol, excess estrogen and eliminate other toxins. Soluble fibre mops up those unwanted molecules and carries them out through the body, while insoluble fibre acts like a broom to “sweep” your digestive system clean. Both kinds are crucial and found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Yay, plants!
But, did you also know that certain kinds of fibre also feed the good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut? They’re called prebiotics.
I often talk about the power of probiotics in helping to get healthy from the inside out. But, probiotics need to eat too in order to thrive. That’s where prebiotics come in. Prebiotics ‘feed’ probiotics and encourage the growth of more of the good guys making sure you have a healthy and robust gut microflora, which helps improve digestion and enhance mineral absorption. Wheeeeeee!
Prebiotics are found in simple, everyday foods like onions and garlic which I include in most of my savoury recipes. Here, I’ve added onions and this risotto gets a prebiotic boost from one of my favourite Genuine Health superfood supplements; fermented organic gut superfoods+. This gut-loving blend of 21 different, fermented fruits and veggies, herbs and spices contains superfoods like pomegranate, spirulina, mulberry, ginger and cinnamon as well as an easy-to-digest source of prebiotic fibre. Because this superfood powder has been fermented, the plant nutrients are amplified and easily digestible and won’t cause bloating! I used the unflavoured powder in this recipe, which has a slightly pungent or sour taste (from the fermentation) and gives the sweet beet sauce a subtle acidic edge that really brightens the flavours.
It all comes together with minimal prep by including one of my simplest flavour hacks ever: cooking rice with the diced onions all in one pot. I’m all about quick and easy! Here’s the rest of my risotto wizardry.
- 3 medium beets, washed and wrapped in foil
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- 2 cups brown rice, rinsed and cooked according to directions
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 can, full-fat coconut milk
- 2 scoops Genuine Health fermented organic gut superfoods+
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Optional Topping:
- Handful of hemp seeds
- Handful of fresh dill, chopped
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Roast foil-wrapped beets 1 hour
- While beets are roasting, dice onion and add to pot of rice to cook (I used short-grain brown rice, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
- Boil rice, water and onion according to your rice’s directions
- When rice is finished cooking, leave lid on for a minimum of 10 minutes to allow rice to soak up all the moisture
- Unwrap slightly cooled beets (no need to peel), cut into quarters and add to blender along with coconut milk, lime juice, fermented superfood powder, salt, pepper and blend until smooth
- Fluff rice/onion mixture and add to large bowl. Pour in roasted beet/coconut sauce and stir until evenly combined.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with hemp seeds, fresh dill or drizzle of olive oil or add to casserole dish for reheating later.
Of course, if you’re ‘doing dairy’ and want to add a glorious grating of parm when it’s all done, go for it! A dollop of sheep yogurt is a great way to increases its ‘sex appeal’. It’s nice with toasted pumpkin seeds too. Get creative!
This recipe makes a large amount of risotto, making this a great dish to bring to a potluck or party. It tastes great cold too! Try adding in some raisins or other nuts and seeds to make a quick rice salad.
This Easy Roasted Beet Risotto is just one of the ways that I am loving my insides this season. There are plenty of other ways to get your prebiotics and probiotics from fibre rich foods like dandelion greens, leeks, bananas or fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, or kefir. Of course, if you’re looking for an easy, superfood boost, find out where you can get your own Genuine Health supplements nearby.
For more information on other Genuine Health Gut superfoods, click here.
Recipe inspired by Deliciously Ella.
If you make this dish, be sure to tag me on instagram @kimdeoncom so I can see how it turned out and if you have any notes to share!
This is a sponsored post. I take my recommendations seriously and am proud to have partnered with this brand that promotes health and wellbeing.
ox
K
