Ingredients
- 400g Arborio Risotto
- 2 Chicken Stock Cubes
- 1 Large Onion, finely chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Purée
- 500g Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp Rosemary, chopped
- 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 100g Parmesan, grated
- Handful of Basil Leaves, torn
- 1 Tsp Chilli Flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan on a high heat and add in the cherry tomatoes. You want the tomatoes to char and become squidgy but not so much that they disintegrate. Remove and set aside.
- Heat a glug of oil and a tbsp of butter and fry the onion until soft and translucent.
- Add rosemary and garlic to the pan along with tomato purée and chilli flakes - stir together.
- Add rice and stir through rice until nicely coated - about 2 minutes.
- Dissolve the chicken stock in 1L of boiling water and pour a ladle full into the risotto. Once the rice has soaked this up, add more bit by bit. This is a process of beating and adding until all the stock is absorbed. By the end, the rice should be thick, creamy but still have a bit of bite.
- When this is done, re-add the majority of the cooked tomatoes (saving some for garnish). Add 80g of parmesan, basil and 2 tbsp of butter. Season with salt and pepper. Stir it all together.
- Once combined and perfectly cooked. Turn off the heat, put the lid on and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then, serve up and garnish with tomatoes, any leftover parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!
Method
Another MOB kitchen dish. This at the request of the Boy. It was only after I cooked it that I remembered that the 2 younger girls "don't like tomatoes". Just think about that for a while. In the whole universe of things not to like, what is wrong with a tomato/ I asked if it is taste, or texture but it is just a generic dislike. Oh well, it was too late at that point. To give her credit, the youngest did eat the risotto (picking out the tomatoes) but that kind of seems like a waste....
Anyway the Boy and I liked this very much and the score reflects our assessment. It is light and summery but in a stomach filling comfort food kind of way which I guess was the objective. If anything it is too heavy on the parmesan - I leave the quantity to your discretion. I only used 80 of the 100g prescribed here and it still overwhelmed the light base flavour, so its basically cheese and tomato risotto. The method of cooking the cherry tomatoes is a little rogue too, probably easier to roast them in the oven, but I guess it would take longer. As it was the method described took about 15 minutes.
Would I do it again - not sure especially as in my case I have non-tomato lovers. Would I do it once, yes I would.