Simple Creamy Tomato Risotto with Courgettes
A delicious creamy tomato risotto that is easy to make with simple-to-find ingredients. This tomato risotto is gluten-free and vegetarian.
“Mummy, what’s for dinner? Is it ready? Can I watch telly?”
The torrent of questions just keeps on coming. Don’t you just love that hour before dinnertime? 🙄
Most days, a super quick simple dinner may well be the best option. But sometimes, I love spending a little longer in the kitchen simply because it’s an escape from the noise, chaos, and mess.
It doesn’t get much more simple and soothing to make than a risotto. It is really easy, really tasty, and it requires a glass of white wine, which means the chef has to taste one to be sure it’s usable, right?
This creamy tomato risotto ticks all of the boxes. Yes, it takes a little extra effort than a 15-minute dinner (although much less if you just chuck the courgettes into the pan rather than griddle them). But the result is silky, smooth and super sweet.
And since the vast majority of it is just stirring, restless kids pulling on your sleeve can actually join in easily! And there are so many amazing reasons to get your kids cooking with you, as well as a multitude of ways they can do it.
It’s as simple as:
- blitzing some tomatoes and heating with some stock
- frying some onion, courgettes and garlic
- adding some rice, wine and a ladle of stock
- stirring until absorbed, then adding another ladle of stock
- repeating over and over while you sip white wine and dream about a beach in Hawaii
- sprinkling generously with cheese (optional, but seriously recommended) and serving
And if you have some little helpers? Watch them carefully and show them how to safely stir the risotto in the pan and ladle in the stock. You’d be surprised how quickly they pick it up!
With a dinner as easy as that, if you find yourself constantly fielding the millionth question about dinner, TV and why a bee buzzes while trying to make dinner, why not pull up a stool and show your little one how to safely stir the rice as you ladle in a little more stock?
A delicious creamy tomato risotto that is easy to make with simple-to-find ingredients. This tomato risotto is gluten-free and vegetarian. Barely adapted from Laren Caris Cooks.
- 6 tomatoes
- 1 litre (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) dry white wine or vermouth (or use more stock)
- 200 g (1 cup) risotto (arborio) rice
- 2 courgettes (zucchini), finely sliced
- Parmesan cheese, to serve (check it's vegetarian if you are and leave out for vegan!)
- basil leaves or a spoonful of pesto, to serve
-
Blitz the tomatoes in a food processor until smooth, then pour into a saucepan with the stock and bring to the boil and keep it simmering gently while you make the risotto.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the sliced onion and courgette (if not grilling) over a low-medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
-
Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 more minute, then add the risotto rice and allow to cook for 2 minutes before adding the wine. Let it cook for a minute or two until the wine has evaporated, then add a ladleful of the tomato-stock mixture. Allow the rice to totally absorb the stock, stirring frequently, before adding another ladleful of stock. Repeat until all the tomato and stock mixture has been used up (usually takes about 30 minutes).
-
If you want the courgette to have a bit more flavour, I like to grill it by heating a griddle pan (grill pan – ideally cast iron) over high heat and brushing the courgette slices with a little olive oil, then grilling in the pan until charred with grill lines across each slice. Stir them through the cooked risotto before serving with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan, a handful or two of basil leaves (or a spoonful of pesto), and a decent grind of black pepper.
*Kids not courgette fans? You can definitely grate the courgette and fry it with the onion like that so it’s not noticeable, but studies show that kids need to knowingly be exposed to the same new food repeatedly to get used to it and truly learn to love it, so I’d recommend grating one and slicing the other so they are at least aware it’s in there and can give it a go, but still be getting some if they decide not to eat it all.
I love taking classic recipes and upping the veg content without compromising on texture and flavour – find some more of our most veggie-loaded recipes here.
