End-of-the-season tomatoes still have tons of flavor and are perfect for juicing. That’s what goes into this delicious and fresh-tasting Tomato Risotto. This dish doesn’t use wine for acidity like traditional risotto, but instead uses a tomato-celery juice added towards the end, and a little lemon juice to brighten up the finish. No butter in this one, just olive oil, veggies and parmesan cheese for extra flavors.
Simple and fresh ingredients. I have a few extra celery stalks from our garden; a little smaller than celery you will find at the store.
Start by sweating the diced onion with some olive oil and a pinch of salt until translucent.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the arborio rice with another pinch of salt. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the rice gets warmed through and starts to get lightly toasted. Start adding your simmering liquid 1 to 2 cups at a time, stirring frequently and adding more liquid after it is absorbed.
What really gives this risotto the flavor is the tomato-celery juice that is added to finish cooking the rice. It gets super creamy and tastes wonderful.
Finish the risotto by adding olive oil, parmesan, chopped basil and a little lemon juice.
Stir it all together and it’s time to plate it up.
Garnish with cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and some more shaved parmesan.
Contrast this creamy dish with some heirloom tomato toast.
Tomato Risotto
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 4-6 cups water or vegetable stock
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 pound ripe tomatores
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- kosher salt + pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onions and a pinch of salt; sweat the onions until translucent. Meanwhile, bring the water or stock to a simmer in a separate pot.
- Purée the ripe tomatoes and celery in a food processor or a blender until smooth. Put the purée through a fine mesh strainer, keeping the liquid and discarding the solids.
- Increase the heat in the pot with the onions and add the rice and another pinch of salt. Cook the rice for about 2 minutes to slightly toast.
- Start adding the water or stock about 1 1/2 cups at at a time. Stir frequently and add more liquid as soon as the previous is absorbed. Cook the rice for about 15 minutes, then stir in the tomato-celery juice. Continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, or until the rice is al dente.
- Remove from heat and add the remaining olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice and basil. Season with salt + pepper to taste.
- Mix the halved cherry tomatoes in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt + pepper.
- Plate the risotto and garnish with cherry tomatoes + grated parmesan.
I love the idea of adding the tomato celery juice right at the end!
What a good looking risotto Justin! I love end of the season tomatoes too they are my favorite! Beautiful pictures!!
Oh this looks SO good Justin! Wow! I can just see the creamy texture in the photos. I love that you changed it up by using tomatoes to provide the acidity in the risotto rather than the typically used wine. The fact that this dish revolves around fresh garden produce that’s in season right now is so awesome. It just makes you know that this dish was absolutely scrumptious. Plus the finish with the cherry tomatoes and parmesan….heaven! Beautiful photography too!! 🙂
Thanks, Beeta! Isn’t risotto just so much fun. Do you have a favorite risotto recipe?