If you are like me and grow tomatoes in your garden, you are likely to have large amount of them at this time of year. I was looking for ways to use a lot in one go and came up with tomato risotto which used 400g for me and my husband. Oh my goodness, was it good! The delicious depth of flavour that good tomato gives, creamy from parmesan with a little bite from the rice.

Fresh tomatoes are at their best in summer, and from gardens and allotments, so frequently not available. You could use supermarket tomatoes of course, or a tin.

Ingredients for this risotto with tomatoes

• I didn’t use stock in this cherry tomato risotto, just water from the kettle and the moisture from the tomatoes themselves.
• Arborio rice – you really need proper risotto rice to make risotto. I’ve seen bloggers write that ordinary rice will work. But risotto rice releases starch as it cooks, giving that distinct creamy starchy feel of a good risotto. Long grain rice just can’t do this and your finished dish will be more watery, with the grains separate.
• It costs a few pence more per portion. At the time of writing (September 2024) a 500g pack of arborio rice costs £2.40 at Sainsbury. I couldn’t find it in Aldi or Lidl. As a portion of risotto uses just 40g of rice, that would mean a cost of 19p a portion, against 2p for Aldi value rice.
• White wine vinegar – Rissoti usually use about half a glass of (usually) white wine. This is delicious. This time I used some red wine to add even more red colour to the risotto.
• I’ve found that I can achieve much the same flavour profile by using white wine vinegar and of course, it is much cheaper.
• I used a large onion, chopped and sauted.
• Parmesan. I use genuine Parmesan when I make risotto, but if you can’t stretch to that, Cheddar will do a good job
• A fat clove of garlic, fresh is best, but garlic grains in a pinch
• Fresh basil. At the start f the year, I buy a basil plant from the supermarket, plant it in a decent sized pot and keep it in the greenhouse, well fed and watered. The plant will bush out and keep me in basil all summer.  If you can’t get fresh basil, use dried basil, or just leave it out

How to make a fresh tomato risotto

This risotto with tomatoes and basil uses fresh summer tomatoes, from the garden in my case. If fresh tomatoes from garden or supermarket are not available, a tin of tomatoes will do the job almost as well.

• Start by melting butter in a pan and add chopped onion. Sauté until transparent. Add rice and stir around until that too is translucent to give a lovely toasty flavour. Add finely grated garlic.
• Add a little white wine vinegar or a glass of red or white wine and allow to evaporate.
• Put the tomatoes in a jug and use an immersion blender to liquidise to help minimise the skins, or do the same thing in a liquidiser goblet. I used cherry tomatoes, so there was no way I was skinning all those! If you want to skin them, immerse in boiling water for a few seconds, stab with a sharp knife and the skins should slip off.
• Boil the kettle. Now add a couple of ladlefuls of hot water. Stir every minute or so until the water is more or less absorbed. The stirring helps to release the starch from the rice and give it that lovely creamy texture of a good risotto.
• Add your liquidised tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomato liquid has been absorbed. Keep stirring
• Add a little more water if needed until the rice is coked through. Risotto needs to be very moist, not dry like a rice accompaniment. So leave enough moisture in there.
• Stir in half the cheese and some fresh basil if you have it. Serve immediately with the remaining cheese and some chives, if you have them, sprinkled over the top, or a couple of basil leaves.

What changes can I make to risotto with tomato sauce?

• Use fresh tomatoes from the garden or allotment, supermarket fresh tomatoes or a tin
• Leave some cherry tomatoes whole
• If you can’t stretch to Parmesan, Grana Padano is cheaper, or Cheddar will do a good job, the more mature the better
• For an even creamier finish, stir through some mascarpone right at the end
• Use red wine, as I did here, white wine or a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar

Other Risotti

Barley, Mushroom & Spinach Risotto

Chicken and Vegetable Risotto (no wine) – Stretch A Chicken (2)

Fresh tomato risotto

5 from 2 votes

This risotto with tomatoes and basil uses fresh summer tomatoes, from the garden in my case. If fresh tomatoes from garden or supermarket are not available, a tin of tomatoes will do the job almost as well.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Course:

Dinner

,

Lunch

,

Main Course

Cuisine:

Italian

Gluten Free

Gluten Free

,

Nut Free

Servings: 2 people

Cost per portion £1.71 using bought fresh tomatoes

Calories: 512kcal

Author: Thrifty Lesley

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Ingredients

• ▢ 80 g rice
• ▢ 20 g butter
• ▢ 15 ml olive oil
• ▢ 150 g onion chopped
• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ 30 ml white wine vinegar I used a 5 litre container
• ▢ OR
• ▢ 150 ml wine red or white
• ▢ 400 g tomatoes fresh or tinned
• ▢ 25 g Parmesan
• ▢ 250 ml hot water

Topping

• ▢ 25 g parmesan grated
• ▢ 15 g basil optional, I used some from the garden

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• ▢
  Melt the butter in a pan, add the olive oil and add the chopped onion. Sauté until transparent.
  20 g butter, 150 g onion, 15 ml olive oil
• ▢
  Add the finely grated garlic
  1 clove garlic
• ▢
  Add the rice and stir around until that too is translucent. This gives the rice a nice toasty flavour.
  80 g rice
• ▢
  Add the white wine vinegar or red/white wine and allow to evaporate.
  30 ml white wine vinegar, OR, 150 ml wine
• ▢
  Put the tomatoes in a jug and use an immersion blender to liquidise to help minimise the skins, or do the same thing in a liquidiser goblet. I used cherry tomatoes, so there was no way I was skinning all those! If you want to skin them, immerse in boiling water for a few seconds, stab with a sharp knife and the skins should slip off.
  400 g tomatoes
• ▢
  Meanwhile, boil the kettle. Add a ladleful of hot water to the pan. Stir every minute or so until the water is more or less absorbed. The stirring helps to release the starch from the rice and give it that lovely creamy texture, and keeping it hot helps to stop the rice cooling down too much each time you add a ladleful
• ▢
  Add your liquidised tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomato liquid has been absorbed.
• ▢
  Add more hot water if needed and keep stirring until the rice is almost cooked. Risotto needs to be very moist, not dry like a rice accompaniment. So leave enough moisture in there.
  250 ml hot water
• ▢
  Stir in half the cheese. Serve immediately with the remaining cheese and the basil leaves (if using) sprinkled over the top
  25 g parmesan, 15 g basil

Equipment Needed

small sharp knife

chopping board

pan to fry in

saucepan

Notes

What changes can I make

• Use fresh tomatoes from the garden or allotment, supermarket fresh tomatoes or a tin
• Leave some cherry tomatoes whole
• If you can't stretch to Parmesan, Grana Padano is cheaper, or Cheddar will do a good job, the more mature the better
• For an even creamier finish, stir through some mascarpone right at the end
• Use red wine, as I did here, white wine or a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar

 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Fresh tomato risotto

Amount per Serving

Calories

512

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

22

g

34

%

Saturated Fat

 

10

g

63

%

Trans Fat

 

0.3

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

9

g

Cholesterol

 

39

mg

13

%

Sodium

 

486

mg

21

%

Potassium

 

764

mg

22

%

Carbohydrates

 

50

g

17

%

Fiber

 

4

g

17

%

Sugar

 

9

g

10

%

Protein

 

15

g

30

%

Vitamin A

 

2508

IU

50

%

Vitamin C

 

35

mg

42

%

Calcium

 

370

mg

37

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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