Risotto Caprese

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
2-3 medium tomatoes (preferably heirloom)
3 oz. mozzarella cheese (preferably buffalo or bocconcini)
½ sweet onion, diced
1 cup Arborio rice
small glass of white wine
½ cup fresh basil leaves, thinly chopped or chiffonade
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
sea salt

In a saucepan, warm butter and olive oil over medium high heat, then add onions. Saute for about 1 minute until translucent. Add risotto rice and cook for another minute to toast. Then add white wine and continue cooking until the wine has nearly evaporated and rice starts to get creamy.

Dice your tomatoes and add them to the pot when the wine is almost cooked off. Then add a ladle of broth a little at a time as you cook the rice for the next 15 minutes. When rice is almost done (it’ll start to give off a creamy texture and look translucent), remove from stove top and add the mozzarella cheese (cut into bite-sized chunks) and basil and stir to completely blend well. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with a couple of basil leaves and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Pair with a glass of pinot gris.

TIP: This recipe only calls for one cup of broth because the tomatoes will give up a lot of moisture that will help to keep your risotto creamy. But if your pan dries out before the risotto is cooked, then add more broth. Just be sure to add a little at a time so you don’t affect the cooking temperature or turn your risotto into soup.

SKIN THEM: I get rustic with this recipe (translation: lazy), so I just chopped up the tomatoes and threw everything in. But if you don’t like seeing bits of tomato skin and seed, then blanch your tomatoes by dipping in a pot of boiling water and then immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water, then peel off the skin. (I actually like keeping the skin because I think that’s where all the nutrients are concentrated.)

DRIZZLE IT: To give your risotto more flavor and a shiny look, you can drizzle each finished plate with good quality extra virgin olive oil. Yum.