Beetroot Hummus Risotto

Over the past few years of sharing Ballerina Bites with you all, I've really grown in terms of my cooking skills. 
If you're an O.G. B.B. follower, then I'm sure you've seen my growth from being a rather restricted recipe developer, to someone who's willing to try everything, there's no boundaries.

Today I'm able to create a recipe without the fear of it being a "flop," as I understand the key elements (especially in vegan cooking) in-order to make it a success in flavour, texture and presentation.

​From a health perspective, I still keep to my initial belief of using whole food ingredients, with the exception of few ingredients like tofu and dairy-free yoghurt. Maybe what's different from the earlier days of my culinary journey, is I'm now willing to use more- fat, salt, acid and sugar in-order to reach the ultimate recipe with robust flavour.
~

This recipe was created for Energetiks Dancewear, see original post here.
Yes the version I created for Energetiks was delicious, but was missing substance; something I try to implement in all my recipes today.

Below you'll find my new 'Beetroot Hummus Risotto (2.0),' that's one to remember.
I personally think this recipe is wonderful when you're trying to impress your friends, because of its beautiful vibrant colour and the clever use of brussel sprouts. By the end of the night there'll be no sprout haters here!

Enjoy!

Love Alex, Ballerina Bites. Xx
PS: Be sure to tag me @ballerina_bites on Instagram so I can see your wonderful recreations!   

Ingredients 
1 medium brown onion, diced
400g mushrooms, sliced
2-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 cup of arborio or brown rice, rinsed under the tap 
1 cup beetroot hummus (recipe below)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Juice of 1/4 of a medium lemon
3 cups of water
s & p

Veggie Broth
3 cups of water
1x vegetable salt reduced stock cube

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
400g medium sized brussel sprouts, sliced in 1/2
Dried mixed herbs
Olive oil
s & p

Beetroot Hummus
1x 400g can chickpeas
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tahini
1 tsp ground cumin
1 large pre-cooked beetroot from a can 
Juice of 1/2 a medium lemon
s & p to taste

To serve 
A small handful of fresh chives, chopped finely
Flaked almonds, toasted if you wish
Cold pressed olive oil 

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a tray with baking paper. 
Scatter brussel sprouts over the tray, dust with mixed herbs, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.
Allow sprouts to roast for 30mins, keeping an eye on them.
(​I tend to remove any charing leaves from the oven early to prevent them from burning.)

In a medium sized saucepan, fill with 3 cups of water. 
Add the stock cube and gently heat, making sure the water doesn't reach boiling.
​Use a whisk to crumble the stock cube and evenly flavour the water.

Add a dash of water or oil to a large saucepan.
Add the diced onion, sliced mushrooms, crushed garlic, dried mixed herbs and season with s & p.
Sauté until no juices remain. 
Now add the rice and allow to toast for a few minutes, stirring throughout.
In stages, stir in the veggie broth allowing the previous broth to be absorbed by the rice before adding more.
Repeat the process, stirring throughout until no veggie broth remains. 

Meanwhile add all beetroot hummus ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. 
Set aside until needed. 

​Once the rice is tender and absorbs all liquid, stir in the beetroot hummus, as well as the nutritional yeast and lemon juice.
Continue to cook risotto until hot.

Evenly distribute risotto between four bowls and top each bowl with the roasted sprouts (not forgetting the crispy leaves we removed early), a sprinkle of fresh chives and flaked almonds. 
If you wish, finish with a drizzle of good quality olive oil.

Serves 4