Beet risotto is a cultural incongruity. They don’t grow a lot of arborio rice in the borschtophagous regions of Eastern Europe, and if you look up “beets” in the encyclopedia of Italian cuisine, the first thing it will tell you is that they are used “in dishes like insalata russa .” East is east and west is west, and the twain shall meet only occasionally when circumstances call for it.
Circumstances such as poverty: A third of a bag of arborio rice will make enough risotto to last a week, if you flavor the risotto with something you can stand to eat day after day, and it’s not like there are a ton of ingredients in the dish pictured above: rice, stock, wine, garlic, onions, more garlic, garlic powder, and three beets. The only extravagance involved is goat cheese (which suits the dish much better than the parmigiano-reggiano recommended in this recipe , which was otherwise the basis for my culture-clashing food adventure). Next time: beet tacos?
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Letters
Glenn C. Loury makes several points with which I can’t possibly disagree (“Tucker and the Right,” January…
Visiting an Armenian Archbishop in Prison
On February 3, I stood in a poorly lit meeting room in the National Security Services building…
Christians Are Reclaiming Marriage to Protect Children
Gay marriage did not merely redefine an institution. It created child victims. After ten years, a coalition…
