Artichoke with Beetroot Risotto and Garlic-Almond Puree

Never fear, this dish is way less complicated than it sounds, and we've broken it down into three parts - the artichoke, the risotto, and the sauce. Despite its showy looks, this is a fairly simple meal to make. Which makes it great for special occasions where you want lots of colour and flavour without lots of fuss.

Prepping globe artichokes:

Choose artichokes that are plump with bright green-mauve petals that have not gone black at the tips. For large globe artichokes, boil them whole until tender and the petals pull out easily. Take out the artichoke and drain and leave to cool. Pull off all the leaves and carefully scrape out the inedible hairy choke with a teaspoon. Marinate the heart in a little olive oil and crushed garlic. The artichoke hearts are also lovely eaten cold with the garlic-almond puree below.

If you want to serve artichoke with the beetroot risotto, we recommend frying the artichoke heart until it begins to brown on the edges. Top with a little risotto and sprinkle on toasted pinenuts. We also like to serve this dish with griddled, roasted or braised baby leeks and carrots, stir-fried beetroot tops and garlic-almond puree.

Beetroot Risotto

Serves: 4/6

Dietary: Vegan, Gluten Free

Ingredients:

• 250g Carnaroli rice
• 250g whole beetroot
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 150ml red wine
• 500-750ml vegetable stock heated to simmering point in a pan
• salt and pepper
• Toasted pine nuts to finish

Method:

1. Boil the beetroot whole until tender, drain, cool and then peel. Puree half the beetroot and dice the other half.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a minute.
3. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes until it starts to turn translucent. Add the diced beetroot.
4. Pour in the wine and turn and simmer until the wine is absorbed then add half the hot stock.
5. Keep stirring and add the beetroot puree and more stock if necessary until the rice is cooked al dente (approx 15 minutes).
6. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cover for 2 minutes before serving. Top with toasted pine nuts to serve.

Variation: you can make the same recipe with squash in the autumn and radicchio rosso in the winter.

Garlic and Almond Puree

Serves: 4

Dietary: Vegan, Gluten Free

Ingredients:

• 50ml water
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• pinch of salt
• 50g ground almonds
• 50ml white wine vinegar
• 200ml extra virgin olive oil
• 200ml vegan yoghurt

Method

1. Put the water, garlic and salt into a food processor and whiz until the garlic is emulsified.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
3. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours. It will thicken as it cools.