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Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
Salt and pepper
1 ½ cups arborio or carnaroli rice
Pinch of red-pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves
½ cup white wine
2 cups diced ripe red tomatoes
3 cups boiling water or 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
- Step 1
Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion, and season generously with salt. Add pepper to taste, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the rice and cook the onions, stirring, until the onions are barely brown, about 2 minutes. Add red-pepper flakes, garlic, white wine and diced tomatoes, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more.
- Step 3
Add 2 cups boiling water and adjust the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring well with a wooden spoon every minute or so.
- Step 4
When the liquid is absorbed, add remaining 1 cup water and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice is cooked, but the grains are still firm. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding another splash of water if necessary to loosen the mixture. Turn off the heat, stir in the pecorino and 2 more tablespoons olive oil.
- Step 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.
Private Notes
Comments
I make Andrew Carmellini’s version. It is summer in a bowl! Rather than simply use diced tomatoes, Carmellini recipe has you halve and roast fresh tomatoes in the oven for thirty minutes or so. Peel the skin and smash. Use the tomatoes, which become super sweet, as the liquid base for the risotto. I use a quick vegetable stock instead of water. I riffed on this recently by sautéing some summer squash separately and adding it at the finish. The result was Italian comfort food at its best!
Or, it might be that the 2 cups of ripe red tomatoes are mostly water, bringing the total liquid up to 5 cups.
I don't know. When I make risotto with a cup and a half of Arborio rice, it takes at least five cups of chicken stock (always homemade!) and thirty or thirty-five minutes to cook. I can't imagine how David Tanis gets his risotto to cook so much faster and with so much less liquid. Or maybe what I can't imagine is the consistency of a risotto done his way. Still, the tomato thing sounds like a good idea--I should try it (with my own proportions and timing!).
@Sonia a previous person said they used short grain brown rice, boiled like pasta for 18 minutes, then proceed w recipe as stated. Hope that helps!
So so good. Used in-season purple and yellow cherry toms from Obercreek in the risotto and on the top. Used low sodium chicken stock instead of water. Threw a little 3 year aged cheddar (Adirondack dairy/creamery) i had laying around in with the parm. Hint of lemon juice at the end and did the parsley and fresh basil- which is a must. Gorgeous dish in presentation and flavor
Adapted this for the Instant Pot. I don't like the saute function on the Instant Pot, so I prep everything in a saute pan as if I were making it on the stovetop. Then add that sauted mixture to the Instant Pot and then add the broth. 7 mins on high pressure. Used cherry tomatoes from my vegetable box that I cut in half, low sodium chicken broth instead of water, and a grated blend of pecorino and romano. This. Was. Off. The. Hook. Delicious. Will top with fresh basil and fried egg next time.

