Tomato Risotto

To make the risotto

• 1 ½ cups of arborio rice
• 1 large yellow onion (peeled and small diced)
• 6 cloves garlic confit (or 4 cloves chopped raw garlic)
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter (diced)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (picked)
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil (chiffonade)
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

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To garnish the tomato risotto (all optional)

• Summer herb pesto
• Fresh tomatoes
• Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• Balsamic vinegar
• Toasted pine nuts
• Garlic confit oil

1. Peel and dice the yellow onion, dice the butter, cut the tomatoes, and pick and chop the herbs. Refrigerate the butter in the meantime.
2. Put the vegetable stock in a pot and bring to a simmer.
3. In the meantime, put a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lot of surface area on the stove and turn on the high heat.
4. Once hot, add about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, followed by the diced onions. Season with salt and continue to cook on medium heat until they start to become translucent (about 4-5 minutes).
5. When the onions start to become translucent, add the garlic confit and toast on low heat for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. After the 1-2 minutes, add the red pepper flakes, followed by the arborio rice.
7. Toast the rice, stirring every 10 seconds or so, for about 2 minutes. Do not let the rice stick to the pot.
8. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the rice. Continue cooking for about 1-2 minutes or until the tomato paste starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.
9. Immediately deglaze with the red wine. Stir everything to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook the wine, while stirring constantly, until the wine is almost fully evaporated.
10. Add the diced fresh tomatoes and season with salt. Continue to stir and cook on medium heat until the liquid from the tomatoes is fully evaporated.
11. At this point, using a ladle, add about 1 cup of your hot vegetable stock to the risotto, stirring to incorporate.
12. Continue stirring, while cooking on medium heat, until the liquid has almost evaporated.
13. Repeat the process with 1 more cup of vegetable stock and once the liquid is once again evaporated, repeat the process with the last of the hot vegetable stock.
14. This time, as the stock nears full evaporation, taste a bit of the rice and check the doneness. The rice should have just a small amount of bite to it but should not be crunchy. Think al dente pasta. If the rice has reached the correct doneness and there is a small amount of liquid remaining in the rice, turn off the heat, add the cold butter and stir to combine, melting the butter into the rice.
15. When all the butter is combined, add the parmigiano-reggiano cheese and the herbs from earlier. Stir to combine.
16. Check the seasoning of the rice and adjust accordingly using salt, pepper and lemon juice.
17. To serve, spoon a healthy portion of rice into the center of your bowl/plate and top with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese and a combination of any of the optional garnishes listed above. Enjoy!