This tomato confit risotto can star as the entree or be a complimentary side dish. Either way, this recipe combines flavorful tomatoes with earthy arugula in a creamy risotto. It’s a delightful dish to wrap up the summer months.
My favorite time of the year is this transition from summer to fall. I am savoring all the great vegetables and dishes that highlight summer, yet getting so excited about all of the fall flavors that are emerging. I shamelessly will enjoy a pumpkin spice latte during breakfast and turn around to have a summery salad for lunch. For instance, my Grilled Zucchini and Corn Salad is still a favorite go to.
Does anyone else take advantage of the changing seasons like this?
A few weeks ago, I shared my recipe for Tomato Confit because with the summer to fall transition, many gardeners have an abundance of tomatoes as the plants are reaching their peak.
To me, making a confit is a great way to preserve my cherry tomatoes and have them readily available for a dish like this Tomato Confit Risotto. In this risotto, I don’t include garlic in this recipe because the confit has a rich hint of garlic flavoring from where the tomatoes were roasted with garlic cloves.
Mise En Place
- 1 Jar of Tomato Confit– Brought to room temperature
- Arborio Rice
- One small onion – diced
- Olive oil and Butter
- Chicken Broth
- Fresh Thyme (or herbs such as basil or parsley) – chopped
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Arugula (or you can opt for spinach)
How to make the tomato confit risotto:
- Bring your broth to a simmer in a small pot.
- Saute the onions in a combination of melted butter and olive oil.
- Add the rice and allow it to toast for one minute while stirring frequently.
- Next, add white wine to deglaze the pan.
- Allow the rice to absorb the wine and add one ladle of the warm broth. Stir rice frequently until the broth is absorbed and stir in another ladle of broth. Continue process until the rice is al dente and creamy.
- Lower the heat and add in the tomato confit and fresh thyme. Let simmer until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold in the cheese and arugula. Serve and enjoy!
Tips for cooking risotto
Heat your liquids first: In a large pot heat the broth to a simmer. Adding cold liquid to the hot pan will slow down the cooking.
Slowly add your broth: You want to give the rice a chance to absorb liquids as it cooks to become tender and creamy. Add one one or two ladles of broth, let the rice absorb the liquids and then add more liquid.
Don’t panic if you run out of warm broth: Sometimes I unexpectedly run out of broth all together. In this case I just add a few cups of warm water to the simmering liquid to stretch it out and continue cooking.
Add in tender vegetables and cheeses at the end: The arborio rice is meant to be cooked slowly. If you stir in these delicate add-ins like the arugula too early, the greens will become mushy and lose their bright green color.
All in All
This is a great dish for using up those end of the season cherry tomatoes. It can star as the main dish or you can use it as a side dish like I did. Either way, it’s a flavorful recipe and a keeper in my household.
Tomato Confit Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 batch my tomato confit recipe
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup Small Onion diced
- 1 cup Arborio Rice
- 1/2 cup Dry White Wine I used Chardonnay
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1-2 handfuls arugula
Instructions
- Heat broth in a pot and keep it simmering while you cook.
- In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat until melted. Saute the onions until softened but do not allow to brown.
- Add arborio rice to the onions and allow to toast for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add wine and allow rice to absorb the wine.
- Next add a ladle full of the warm broth to the pan. Stir frequently and allow the rice to absorb the broth. Once absorbed, add another ladle full of broth and stir. Continue this process until the rice is al dente and creamy.
- Lower heat and stir in the tomato confit and fresh thyme. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn off heat and fold in the Parmesan cheese and arugula. Plate risotto immediately and serve.
I made this for dinner this evening. Sal said give Brittany five stars. 🙂 I really enjoyed, too. I didn’t have arugula or cherry tomatoes but we had Swiss chard and another kind of of small tomatoes from the garden. They worked well. Also, I scampied some shrimp in the oil after I took the tomatoes out. Very yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome and thanks for the feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed it. I have a bit of Swiss chard left in my garden, I’ll give that it try next time- great idea.