British tomato risotto with garlic & chilli pangrattato

Recipe & Styling by Georgia Levy

This is a great way of making the most of super ripe British tomatoes. Stirring them into your risotto creates a lovely, creamy rice, full of juicy, sunshiney flavours. The pangrattato adds a delicious injection of crunch and texture. Vegetarians, you can use a vegetarian-friendly hard cheese.

Ingredients

500g ripe medium British tomatoes 

60g butter 

2 tbsp of olive oil 

1 onion, finely chopped 

300g carnaroli or arborio rice 

150ml white vermouth, Pernod or white wine 

Approx 750ml - 1 litre of hot vegetable stock or water 

50g grated Parmesan 

For the pangrattato 

100g dry breadcrumbs, such as panko 

3 tbsp olive oil 

1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half lengthways 

1 heaped tsp fennel seeds 

A good pinch of dried chilli  

½ tbsp thyme leaves  

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil

2. Score each tomato with a small X then carefully lower into the boiling water for 10-15 seconds or until you can easily peel away the skin. Scoop into a colander, rinse briefly under cold water, then slip off the skins and roughly chop. Return the tomatoes to the colander to drain excess juices

3. Melt half the butter and oil in a wide saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and gently cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring often until the onions are soft and sweet

4. Turn the heat up to medium and stir in the rice and a teaspoon of salt. Cook for a minute or so to toast the rice, then add the vermouth, and stir for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes and some black pepper and get your stock warming

5. Add a small ladleful of stock to the pan, and stir until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Repeat, adding a ladleful of stock at a time and stirring often until the rice is tender, but still with a little bite to it, this’ll take around 18-22 minutes. You might not use all the stock

6. In a large frying pan over a medium heat, warm the olive oil with the garlic clove and just as the garlic begins to colour, add the breadcrumbs, fennel, chilli, thyme and a big pinch of salt and fry, stirring constantly, until the bread has an even golden colour, about 2-3 minutes. Season, then scoop onto a plate to cool

7. Once your rice is tender, take off the heat and beat in the remaining 30g of butter and Parmesan, then leave the risotto to rest for a couple of minutes before serving, sprinkled with the pangrattato