Recipe of the Day

Tomato Risotto

Time 30 minutes

If you’re like me you likely have an abundance of tomatoes from your garden or the farmers market this time of year.

Fortuitously, this David Tanis recipe landed in my inbox this morning courtesy of New York Times Cooking. Over coffee on the porch with the dogs to witness the sunrise it occurred to me that I had everything necessary to make this meal come together. The Pantry Warrior strikes again!

A basic risotto recipe that you can build-upon for various versions throughout the year. This iteration is built-upon red, ripe tomatoes from the garden, but if you want to ramp-up the tomato quotient, garnish the finished dish with cherry tomatoes or slices of multicolored heirloom varieties.

Best as a first course or vegetarian main course. It also pairs nicely with a main course — chicken or fish, for instance. I roasted a four pound chicken as the main.

I’ve adapted it slightly as follows:

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ garden onion, diced (about ½ cup)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
• Pinch of red-pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced fine
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 cups ripe red garden tomatoes, diced
• 3 – 4 cups boiling vegetable broth
• ½ cup grated pecorino (or Parmesan) plus more for serving
• 4 medium tomatoes, in different colors, sliced
• Chopped parsley, for garnish
• Snipped basil, for garnish

Preparation

1. Pour olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion and season generously with fresh-cracked sea salt and pepper. Cook until softened.
2. Add the rice, continuing cooking and stirring, until the onions and rice are barely brown. Add red-pepper flakes, garlic, white wine and diced tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Ladle boiling broth and adjust the heat to a brisk simmer stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
4. As the liquid is absorbed continue to ladle boiling broth until the rice is creamy yet firm (al dente). Taste and adjust with salt and pepper, adding additional broth as necessary to loosen the mixture. Turn off the heat, stir in the pecorino and 2 more tablespoons olive oil.
5. Transfer to a low, wide serving bowl. Surround the rice with tomato slices and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and basil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.