Red Hot Comfort Food

There's nothing like Tomato Risotto or Tomato soup on a cold Winters day. The colour red immediately does wonders for your mood and you can vary the seasonings to your preference.  Here is my recipe.

Serves 2 as a main meal or 4 as a starter.

2 cups of Risotto rice
cherry tomatoes
Passata di pomodoro
1 tbsps tomato puree
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
salt and pepper
dried basil
toasted pine nuts
grated Parmesan cheese
Stock to cook the risotto

Lightly cook the crushed garlic in a small amount of olive oil. Add the cherry tomatoes, washed and cut in half. Stir well then add the rice and stir until it is coated. Add some passata to taste and the tomato pureè. Next add the stock until the rice is cooked. this risotto is nice eaten with a spoon so you can keep it nice and moist.
Add some dried basil, salt and pepper and check the seasoning.
Stir in a knob of butter and lots of Parmesan cheese. Turn the heat off and cover with a lid for two minutes.
Serve with toasted pine nuts and extra grated cheese.
This goes well with a green salad.


You can vary this recipe by adding grated carrot with the cherry tomatoes to get extra vegetables, or put in less rice and make it more like a soup that can be made in advance. You can use finely chopped onion instead of garlic and add a sprinkle of chilli if you feel like something more spicy.  Just plain tomato with lots of melted cheese put in at the end is also delicious. Non-vegetarians could add pieces of cooked ham.

Buon appetito