Roasted Vine Tomatoes & Thyme Risotto (v)
I love the combination of flavours that is offered in this bowl of comforting goodness. The robust, earthy yet sweet flavours of the leek, shallots and garlic, balance perfectly with the sweet vibrant flavours from the roasted balsamic herby tomatoes, is so incredible.
I always associate fresh tomatoes with the summer, with their sun ripened flavour, however this dish (which can also be cooked and eaten cold as a salad, in summer) with the tomatoes roasted in a drizzle of balsamic, really brings out a new complexity and sweetness that almost replicates that sun drenched flavour. A great way of brightening up the cold January days.
It’s so moorish it’s hard not to eat a double portion of this delightful dish. I hope you’ll agree. Give it a go it’s so simple. You can adapt this basic risotto recipe and use other vegetables you have in the fridge drawer and omit the ingredients, where highlighted, should you want to make it a totally vegan dish.
Enjoy, N x
Serves: 4 as a main | Prep time: 5-10 minutes | Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
Roasted Tomatoes
350g vine tomatoes still on the vine, (I used a combination of piccolo and sundream)
1 tbsp olive oil
Balsamic vinegar, a drizzle
Sea salt, a sprinkle
2 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme
Risotto
35g unsalted butter, (omit if vegan) or vegan alternative
1 tbsp oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes or olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1/2 leek, white part only, halved and finely sliced
1 large garlic clove, grated
1.5 litres of hot organic vegetable stock (I use bouillon)
300g arborio or carnaroli rice
125ml dry vermouth or white wine (optional)
125g fresh parmesan, vegetarian or vegan hard cheese
2 heaped tbsps of fresh lemon thyme leaves, extra for garnish
1 lemon, zest and juice
50g pine nuts, toasted
Method
Line a small roasting or baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper and place the tomatoes, still attached to the vine, on top. Sprinkle on the sea salt, add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place a few sprigs of lemon thyme on the top and roast in a hot oven Fan 200C / Gas Mark 6 for fifteen minutes until the tomatoes have blistered.
Dry fry the pine nuts in a frying pan and pop to one side for later.
Whilst the tomatoes are cooking, saute the onions and leek in the oil and butter on a medium heat in a pan large enough to hold up to 2 litres of liquid.
In a separate pan, have your hot stock ready to ladle into the risotto.
Let the onions and leek soften but don’t let them brown.
Add the garlic and thyme leaves and stir in the rice. Cook for a further two minutes then add the vermouth or white wine if using.
Cook for a further five minutes on a low heat to allow the alcohol to burn off. Stir the rice and add 1/2 litre of hot stock or ladle in enough just to cover the rice and simmer on a low heat. Once the rice has absorbed the stock, ladle in more until you’ve used up all your stock. This should take at least 15/20 minutes until all the stock has absorbed.
Taste the rice half way through the cooking process. To check it’s cooked, the grains of rice should be soft but firm with a bit of a bite. If still crunchy add a few more ladles of stock or hot water and continue cooking if necessary, until you get the required taste and texture.
Once the rice is cooked, take off the heat and stir in half of the roasted tomatoes off the vine, plus the juices from the roasting pan. Keep back some tomatoes leaving them on the vine for serving and presentation.
Stir in the parmesan, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, thyme leaves, toasted pine nuts and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Serve with the vine roasted tomatoes on top, more parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
Happy cooking, N x
tomato - arborio - parmesan - thyme - leek - winter - shallot