Hannah's Om Nom Noms: Tomato Risotto
10:36 PMHi!
I don't know if anyone remembers the first piece in Hannah's Om Nom Noms, a quick recap for those who don't know, this is where I share a recipe.
But before I delve into deliciousness I just want to give a quick shout-out to basically everyone I know. I feel like I am the luckiest person to be surrounded (in real and virtual space) by such great family, friends and strangers. To everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I am overwhelmed by your love, and you being in my life is the best gift I could hope for. I AM SO GOOD AT BEING CORNY Y'ALL. Please. I should win an award for saying cliché things.
I understand if you need some time to wipe your tears away after that touching speech. Take a couple minutes. You done? Okay, let's get hungry!
I was going to make this but I didn't have any farro (and the nearest grocery store didn't have any either), so I decided to look through my cupboards and see if there was another grain I could exchange it for. When I saw I had arborio rice I realized this would make the perfect risotto.
This is a recipe I basically made up entirely by myself (with inspiration from Smitten Kitchen). However, when I cook I often make up things along the way and I never measure things exactly. Hopefully my instructions make sense... Otherwise my motto is to be brave and experimental! I'm sure you'll figure it out.
Tomato Risotto
Ingredientsolive oil and/or butter (or other cooking oils)
1/2 onion or 2 shallots, chopped very finely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed
chili flakes (desired amount, I took a pinch)
1 cup arborio rice
2.5 - 3 cups of liquid* (Water, stock or wine. In this case I used water and leftover tomato sauce)
In a pot, heat your choice of cooking fat on medium-low, medium. For real yumminess go with butter but I did a mix with olive oil because that's what I felt like at the time. Add the shallots/onion, the garlic, and the chili flakes and let it cook until the onions are slightly transparent and soft (but don't let them get brown!). This takes about 2-5 minutes.
Once the onions are soft you can add the arborio rice. Mix it around so it is covered with the fat and then let it cook (don't let it burn to the bottom!) until also the rice looks translucent. Add your cherry tomatoes (depending on size you can either cut them in smaller pieces or leave them whole) once this stage is reached.
This is when you can start adding water. Measure up how much water you need and every time you pour in water, only pour so much in that it just covers the rice. Make sure to give it a good stir every now and then, you don't want it to burn. When the liquid looks like it's getting low, simply add more until it just covers the rice again.
It will take approximately 20-30 minutes until it is done. With risotto, you have to stick around the stove and make sure that things don't get burnt. While you are doing this you can julienne chop some basil and grate some parmesan cheese.
Once the rice is done (test it, if it's soft then you're good) take the risotto of the heat, add the basil and the parmesan and mix. Add as much salt and pepper as you want to and voilà! You have a delicious bowl of tomato risotto in front of you. Serve it with meat or chicken or just as is.
Good luck with your risotto!
Invite me over if you do decide to make it.
Until next time,
Hannah
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