First of all, I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season and best wishes for the coming New Year. I apologize I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks. I’ve made this risotto a couple times, and also have taken it easy by making recipes that I’ve already posted…so except for my delay in posting this, I haven’t had anything else to really post in awhile.

So, I made this risotto a few weeks ago, and my husband said this was the best thing I’ve ever made. And I can’t lie: this dish is VERY delicious.

It’s risotto, so that means that it does take a good bit of time to make, and with this particular recipe, it takes extra time for roasting tomatoes beforehand. So save this for a weekend to make and enjoy. If it’s the 2 of your, you’ll have plenty of leftovers. If there’s a family, there will be plenty for the meal.

There are 3 parts to this: Baked tomatoes, a tomato topping and the risotto. The timing of preparing each part is tricky. You want to start with roasting the tomatoes (which takes an hour, not including prep time), stove-top cook the tomato topping (which takes about 40 minutes), as well as making the risotto…which requires the baked tomatoes (which, again, takes an hour in itself to bake). So, again, start with baking the tomatoes, then get the tomato topping going, then by that time the roasted tomatoes should be about done and you should be ready to prep and start the risotto portion.

For the BAKED TOMATOS – Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 pound tomatoes (about 8 small beefsteak)
• 1/4 tsp each sea salt and coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 clove garlic, sliced Goodfellas thin

For the TOMATO TOPPING – Ingredients include:
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt

For the RICE- Ingredients include:
• 6-8 cups  reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. SO, to start, you want to BAKE THE TOMATOES for an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the beefsteak tomatoes in half and lay them face-up on a sheet pan. Sprinkle them with the sea salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Lay a slice or 2 of garlic on top of each tomato half. Bake the tomatoes on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered until they’re a bit grilled-looking and soft and yummy (about 1 hour). Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow to cook a bit. Chop the tomatoes roughly and reserve them in a bowl, along with as much liquid as you can retain.

2. After you get the roasted tomatoes in the oven, move on to the TOMATO TOPPING. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and throw them in a pan, then add the olive oil and salt. Cook this over low heat until the oil is bubbly, the tomatoes are soft and the mixture looks like a chunky sauce. I preferred cooking this for about 40 minutes (while the risotto cooks).

3. Now for the RICE/RISOTTO portion of the dish. Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes to the onion-butter mixture and stir to combine.

Add the Arborio rice to the onion-butter mixture and mix well, so all the rice grains are coated, about 1 minute. Add the white wine to the rice mixture and continue stirring constantly to ensure that none of the rice sticks, until the wine has been completely absorbed and the rice is soft but not sticky, about 1 minute.

Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Add the chopped BAKED TOMATOES with their liquid. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.

During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining tablespoon of butter and 1/3 cup Parmesan. At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve with remaining grated Parmesan. Add some rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well, so the risotto becomes rich and well combined. If the risotto is too thick for your taste, add a little leftover stock or water.

Serve in individual bowls, topped with the TOMATO MIXTURE and a little more Parmesan cheese and rosemary for garnish on top.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!