{meatless monday} — caramelized onion and heirloom tomato risotto

i’m lovin’ me some risotto lately.  i just love the texture and the creaminess of it.  my favourite way to have it is with mushrooms.  but i had these items lying around and so i decided to try them together with the risotto.

as you probably know by now, i also love cipollini onions – i think they are absolutely delicious caramelized.  i spotted RED cipollini onions and was eager to try them. i also had a gorgeous heirloom tomato laying around waiting for something perfect go be eaten with.  {i like how both the onions and the tomato are striped ;)}

the ratio for risotto is about 1 cup rice to 3 cups liquid.  any kind of broth does well with risotto.

heat up your broth on reserve on low… keep it to the side for later…

begin by adding about 2 tablespoons of butter to a saute pan and add in the chopped onion.  let them begin to caramelize and brown up nicely.

once good and golden brown, add in the chopped tomato.

cook on low to medium heat into an almost paste-like consistency.

there is no need to rinse risotto {also known as arborio rice} as it is more starchy than most and we want to maintain that, it’s what gives risotto it’s yummy creamy texture.  toss 1 cup into the pan and toast it for about a minute, stirring with a silicon spatula or the like, as to not break the rice.

next, add in a little more than a half a cup of white wine.  this gives the risotto an amazing flavour; i think it’s the key to making it.  stir slowly and allow the wine to be absorbed into the rice.

add in about a 1/4 cup at a time of your reserved broth…

let the rice absorb the broth, stirring slowly…

repeat this process until all of the liquid is absorbed {about 3 cups}.  the rice will become creamier and almost sticky. it takes about 20-25 minutes in all.

it’s so delicious, i just love it.  and i find that it’s just wonderful for leftovers, as well.  so i’ll make a big batch and eat it for a few days for lunch… trying to stretch those healthy dollars 🙂

happy eating!

Tags: cooking, easy, food, healthy, meatless monday, recipes, risotto, simple, vegetarian