Tomato Basil Risotto Recipe
This tomato basil risotto recipe is packed with all the fresh flavors of summer with bright, fresh tomatoes and herbaceous basil, with pancetta and parmesan for a salty, umami punch! Plus, I’m sharing my favorite tips for how to make a perfect risotto!
I couldn’t be more thrilled for this month’s Recipe Redux theme, recreating a favorite recipe from our travels.
When I went to Italy for the first time with my family back when I was in high school, each of us had a very specific dish that we were determined to discover the best possible version of. If we saw it on the menu, we would always get it, even if was a shared dish for the table, ordered solely for taste testing purposes. For my stepmom, it was spaghetti carbonara. For my brother and dad, it was basically anything pork, including suckling pig, which was somewhat traumatic for me as I had just gotten out of my vegetarian phase. And for me, it was risotto.
The winner turned out to be a seafood risotto from Harry’s Bar in Venice. It was creamy and savory and rich and perfect. I must also give honorary mention to a squid ink risotto, also from a restaurant in Venice. It was so tasty the only thing that kept me from spending the rest of the night with a satisfied grin on my face was the fact that my mouth was turned jet black by the squid ink.
I used to make risotto pretty regularly at home until I started watching Top Chef. I feel like every time a chef makes an attempt at risotto, it turns into a miserable fail that gets them sent home! And if the nations top chefs can’t make a decent risotto, I know I sure as heck am failing at it.
To make this tomato basil risotto recipe, I decided to study up and brave it! So while this recipe might now please the judges on Top Chef, I was quite happy with it, and that is what’s important. It’s easy to get intimidated in the kitchen, especially if you are new to cooking, but just remember, Tom Colicchio is highly unlikely to pop out of thin air and trash your cooking. The only person you have to make happy is yourself!
Tomato Basil Risotto Recipe Tips
I normally think of risotto as being a wintery recipe, so I wanted to create a more summery version with this tomato basil risotto recipe. To flavor this dish, I used pancetta and halved heirloom cherry tomatoes briefly sautéed with fresh basil leaves and extra virgin olive oil. Here’s a few notes on how to make a maybe not Top Chef worthy, but totally passable and tasty risotto:
Use Arborio rice or some other type of short grain white rice, which is starchier and creates a creamier risotto. Here’s a link to the arborio rice I use if you can’t find it at the grocery store (affiliate link). You may be tempted to swap in brown rice or another whole grain, like farro or barley. With the delicate flavors in this tomato basil risotto recipe, a whole grain would be overpowering, but for more “fall” or “winter” flavor risottos, brown rice is really tasty! Think chicken and wild mushroom risotto with peas. You’ll just want to double or triple the cooking time and have more stock on hand, because brown rice takes much longer to cook.
Use warm stock. If you add cold stock to the dish, it will cool everything down, slowing the cooking process and preventing starch from being released. That’s why you’ll keep a pot of warm stock on a separate burner.
Don’t under-stir your risotto. Stirring the risotto is necessary – the rice grains rub against each other which creates more starch and a creamy consistency. It also evenly distributes the liquid and prevents the bottom from burning. That said, I know technically you’re supposed to stir constantly, but I’ve also read it’s best to stir every 30 seconds, and I choose to believe that since it means less sore biceps
Add the cooked vegetables towards the end of cooking the risotto. Other than the garlic and onions that flavor the dish, you’ll want to cook your vegetables in a separate pan and stir them into the fully or mostly fully cooked risotto, otherwise the veggies will get mushy and disintegrate.
Tomato Basil Risotto Recipe Adaptions
The basis of this tomato basil risotto recipe is a basic risotto flavored with briefly sautéed tomatoes and basil, but you could use other vegetables to switch this recipe up. Here’s some ideas to swap for the tomatoes and basil:
Sautéed asparagus and lemon zest
Sautéed wild mushrooms
Sautéed spinach or swiss chard
Roasted cauliflower, and drizzle with a bit of browned butter at the end
Roasted winter squash and steamed/sautéed kale
Sautéed shrimp - just swap the chicken broth for seafood broth
Tomato Basil Risotto Recipe
Makes 1 big pot
Ingredients
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces chopped pancetta
½ yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 ½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
10 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup lightly packed basil leaves plus extra for serving
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat broth to a simmer in a pot on medium heat. Let it continue to simmer, turning down the heat if it starts to boil.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, pot on medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until crispy and fat has rendered, about 2-3 minutes. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Stir in rice and cook until rice smells slightly nutty, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in white wine and stir until wine is mostly evaporated. Pour a ladle of hot broth into the rice, stir for a few seconds and let simmer until broth is mostly absorbed. When the risotto starts to look dry, repeat with more broth. Continue with remaining broth until risotto is creamy and tender with a bite (al dente).
As the risotto is cooking, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add tomatoes and basil with a pinch of salt. Cook until tomatoes are tender, but not falling apart, about 5 minutes.
When risotto is creamy and al dente, stir in tomatoes and parmesan cheese and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve garnished with more parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
If you like this tomato basil risotto recipe, you might also like:
Easy No Knead Focaccia with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic
Pasta Puttanesca
Easy Herbed Ricotta Fettuccine
