Tomato Risotto

The rice used to make risotto is said to have been introduced to Northern Italy, notably the Po Valley, in the fourteenth century, and risotto dishes then developed in the area around Milan. This recipe is characterised by the tomato flavour but there are said to be literally hundreds of different risotto recipes but this must be one of the nicest.

Ingredients

For 1	Continued...
230 gm tin chopped tomatoes (see note 1)	20 - 25 gm sun dried tomatoes (to taste) (see note 4)
500 ml stock (see preparation for details ‡‡)	1 tspn dried rosemary
15 gm butter (1)	10 - 15 gm fresh basil
2 tbspn olive oil	as reqd salt (see note 5)
50 gm onion (prepared weight)	as reqd black pepper
10 gm garlic	15 gm butter (2)
70 gm risotto rice (see note 2)	garnish to taste parmesan

Preparation

‡‡ Add the chopped tomatoes and a little water to a processor and blitz until smooth and then make the liquid up to 500 ml using chicken stock.
Finely chop the onion.
Finely chop the garlic.
Remove the thick stalks and roughly chop the fresh basil.
If using dried tomatoes re-hydrate them to pack instructions (see note 4) and rough chop as necessary.

Cooking - about 30 min

Transfer the 500 ml of stock to a pan and ensure it is hot but not boiling.
Using a suitable pan, over a low/medium flame, add the oil and butter (1) and fry the onion, stirring regularly, for about 3 min.
Add in the garlic and fry, stirring, for 1 min.
Add the rice and fry, stirring regularly, for 1 min.
Add about 150 ml of the stock and slowly simmer, stirring regularly (see note 3), until the stock is absorbed (about 6 min).
Stir in the sun dried tomatoes and rosemary.
Gradually add the remaining stock a little at a time allowing it to be largely absorbed before adding more, slowly simmering and stirring regularly (see note 3) for about 20 min, (hot water can be added if you run out of stock).
Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.
Season to taste (see note 5) and stir in the butter (2).

Serving

Garnish with some grated parmesan and optionally serve with the addition of some peas or mixed veg.

Notes

(1) A 230 gm tin of chopped tomatoes contains 149 gm of tomatoes - so it says on the tin.
(2) Arborio rice is a good choice but some supermarkets sell their own brand simply called 'risotto rice'.
(3) Stirring the rice helps to release the starch which increases the creaminess.
(4) I actually use sunsoaked tomatoes from the COOP which just need a rough chop.
(5) Take care with the seasoning as the stock can be quite salty.

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