A couple of years ago I shared with you my method of making tomato confit. I use it in many dishes including corona beans, pastas, and rice. But my absolute favorite is this Tomato Confit Risotto. We’ve made a lot of different risottos over the years, but ever since we made this one, it’s the only risotto we want. It is so good and the best risotto we have ever had. The rich flavor of the tomato confit infused into the rice with a generous helping of fresh herbs is heavenly.
Because Bobby LOVES to stir, he has become the risotto maker. I help out by providing the recipe and prepping the ingredients, but he does the rest. And man…does he do a good job with this tomato confit risotto. I think it just gets better every time he makes it. Once you try this risotto I’m sure it will become one of your favorites as well.
When is risotto at its best?
If you’ve made risotto you already know that it needs to be served immediately. This is when risotto is the creamiest, tastiest and has the perfect texture. Once it rests, the rice continues to adsorb the liquid, losing its creaminess. Overnight it can become a little dry or even gummy. However, if you do have leftovers, you can resurrect the creaminess a little bit by adding a couple tablespoons of water while heating. It’s still tasty, but the texture will have changed. If you don’t like reheating leftover risotto, then I recommend pressing the leftovers into rice cakes and frying them up in a little butter or oil. I’ve served these little rice patties as part of a salad with excellent results.
We normally serve tomato confit risotto as a vegetarian entrée with a simple side salad. It also makes a nice complement to roast chicken or just about any grilled meat.
Tomato Confit Risotto
A creamy and super flavorful risotto made with arborio rice, tomato confit and a generous amount of fresh herbs.
This recipe was inspired by La Cucina Italiana's Tomato Risotto.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, substitutions and related links.
- 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth*
- 2 Tbsp olive oil*
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
- ½ cup vermouth or dry white wine
- 1 cup tomato confit with juice*
- ½ tsp ground white pepper or to taste
- 1 loose cup finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
- 2 to 3 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs* (e.g., basil, thyme, chives, parsley)
- 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter divided in half
A quick broth if you don't have homemade: In a 2-quart saucepan, heat 5 cups of water and add 2 1/2 teaspoons bouillon paste. Stir to dissolve.
Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Cover and keep hot. (Liquid needs to be hot as you add it to the rice.)
Chop your shallot and garlic and set aside.
Measure out the rice. Do not rinse.
Finely grate the cheese and chopped the herbs. Set aside.
Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in about a 4.5-quart pot over medium low heat. Add the shallot and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until onion is translucent.
Add 1 1/2 cups arborio rice and ½ Tbsp. butter. Stir for about 3 to 4 minutes or until rice is lightly toasted.
Add ½ cup vermouth and stir until it has evaporated.
- Add 2 ladles of hot broth and stir frequently until the water is absorbed. Continue to add broth, one ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed. Repeat.
After adding 2 to 3 cups broth, add the tomatoes with its juice. Add the white pepper. Stir until liquid is somewhat absorbed.*
Continue to add broth, stirring frequently, until rice is tender and creamy and much of the liquid has been absorbed.
Stir in the fresh herbs followed by the Romano and the remaining ½ Tbsp butter. Stir until cheese has melted. Risotto should be creamy but not soupy.
Serve immediately.*
Broth – You can use either a homemade vegetable broth or chicken broth. If you don’t have homemade, use 5 cups water with 2 1/2 teaspoons bouillon paste (e.g., Better Than Bouillon.)
Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil is what I mainly use, but I have used garlic-infused olive oil as well as sun-dried tomato infused oil. Both of those work wonderfully.
Tomato Confit – I make several batches of tomato confit during the tomato growing season and freeze them in 1 cup batches. One cup is plenty to provide a rich flavor to the dish. If you don’t have any confit, then you can make a batch with fresh tomatoes up to 3 days prior to making the risotto. Allow a couple of hours to make.
Fresh Herbs – For a tomato basil risotto, use all fresh basil for your herb. After trying a few different combinations, I found that we prefer a mix of fresh thyme, chives, and parsley.
No added salt is needed because the salt in the broth and cheese is quite sufficient in my opinion.
Serve Immediately – Risotto is best when served immediately after cooking. At this point it’s at its creamiest. As it sits, the rice will continue to absorb the liquid and the risotto will start to thicken.
To reheat – We always have leftovers and sometimes enough for a second meal. After sitting in the refrigerator overnight or for a couple of days, the risotto becomes thick and a little gummy. Reheat in a sauce pan or in the microwave. Before reheating, add 2 to 4 tablespoons liquid. Stir. This will help to bring the risotto back to “close” its original texture without sacrificing much of the flavor. You could also make rice cakes which I’ve done several times. They are quite good and actually, my preference for leftover risotto.
Here are a few other rice dishes I know you’ll enjoy.
very delicious dish
Thank you Iza!
I’ve never had tomato confit! It sounds great, and so does this risotto. I love your idea of frying up leftovers into patties. Genius!
Thanks Jeff. Tomato confit is great! We love using it on beans, pizza, and pasta as well as rice. Sometimes I think I make risotto just to be able to make the patties with the leftovers. 🙂
I loved this recipe so much . It’s really awesome
Thank you so much Chris.
Sono amante dei risotti, ottimo questo tuo, grazie!!!
Grazie molte. Questo significa che molto viene da te.
How did I miss this?? Tomato risotto is one of my very very favorites. I’m going to look for some good tomatoes at the market and make this!
Thanks Susan. Hope you enjoy!
MJ, your risotto looks absolutely perfect in every way! Creamy, colorful, and I can only imagine how it tastes. I could make risotto every week, I love it so much. Once upon a time, I made a tomato-base risotto, so I’ve got to try your recipe. Tomatoes should be ripening in a few weeks here, so I’ll give it a go and let you know!
Hope that Bobby and you are having a nice summer,
Ciao xoxo,
Roz
Oh Roz – such a compliment coming from you! Thank you so much! I hoping for another bumper tomato crop this year because I love having them in freezer throughout the winter. We’re getting a small chest freezer for the garage this year because we ran out of freezer space in the kitchen last year. I’m looking forward to it, so I’m really hoping for a bumper crop of everything. 🙂 Cheers, MJ
I have yet to give a try to making risotto in my kitchen. Seeing those risotto disasters in the Masterchef kitchens has perhaps intimidated me 😄
Taruna, I know what you mean about the disasters with risottos on cooking shows. I’ve seen many of them as well. The one thing we’ve learn is that patience is the key. With patience I think anyone can produce a fabulous risotta. Cheers!
MJ, this looks amazing. I’ve never made tomato confit, I must give this a try. I just have to wait for some of those fresh Colorado tomatoes to his our markets.
Thanks Lea Ann. A good tomato is always worth the way. 🙂
This tomato confit is beautiful. Wow, as come into tomato season this would be delightful.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us.
Velva
You are most welomce and thank you for your comment. Oh yes, tomato season is my favorite!
Saw this when i was traveling and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind 😮 your tomato confit with fresh herbs sounds so very tasty in this creamy delight and something you could enjoy through the summer; I should give risotto a shot! (i’ve made orzo couple times, which reminds me of arborio, but it’s not a rice based risotto which i’d like to try) — now fingers crossed we get a few tomatoes this year! (so interesting how things change from year to year in the garden 🤎).
Thanks Kelly. I’ve never made an orzo based risotto, probably because I’ve always used arborio. Sounds interesting. I know what you mean about gardening. I’m just hoping for half the amount of tomatoes we had last year. A bad tomato year is quite depressing. So far so good this year. We have some green ones on the vines but still a ways away from ripening.
MJ, this is certainly a dreamy risotto! And how wonderful the flavor must be with the tomato confit. Does the confit freeze well? I just love having a taste of summer tomatoes in the middle of winter.
Thanks Kelly. Yes, the confit freezes quite well. I usually put up several 1 cup containers during the summer just so I can enjoy them all winter.
Oh, this looks wonderful. We all love risotto, which I make really often, and I would love to try this version; I must make the confit tomatoes first.
Thanks Adina. The tomato confit is what really takes this dish over the top.
You make my heart sing! 🙂 🙂
You make me smile 🙂
Oh, I love this!! It’s been way too long since I’ve made risotto and this one is a show stopper!!
Thanks Liz.
Oh MJ, this is top notch! Risotto is right up there in the comfort food category and this is so timely for the late spring snow we just got. Well done!
Thanks Judy. I saw y’all were getting snow. It’s an unusual late May day here in ABQ. Crazy weather. Stay warm.
yes indeed leftovers make wonderful arancini. This sounds tasty MJ.
Well, you just introduced me to a new term – arancini. I just called them rice cakes or rice balls. Found some interesting recipe for arancini. Thanks!
arancini can be so good or so bad but if you start with a great risotto … 🙂
MJ, I’m with you, I’m not much of a stirrer either. Luckily though, like you, I have a significant other that loves making risotto, so I’ll be printing this out and putting it in her recipe lineup.
Thanks Ron. Sure is nice having help in the kitchen, isn’t it? Hope y’all enjoy!
Love the addition or roasted tomato confit- must try that as soon as possible. You are absolutely, right, once risotto sits the texture changes. Risotto, just like a good steak, does not wait for anyone. Don’t you just love that relaxing process of stirring?
Thanks Bobbi. A steak is an excellent analog for risotto. To be honest, I’m not much of a stirrer so I let my stir crazy husband handle that job. 🙂
Love risotto – probably the only time I use white rice tho’ the latter, brown, red or black, is on the table 3-4 times a week. Have made it with tomato but not the confit – very interesting and shall try. Oh – I am a ‘stirrer’ – probably one of the reasons I prepare it . . . the making of it thus is almost a meditation ‘exercise’ . . . 🙂 !!!
Thanks Eha. Sounds like you and my husband would be fighting over who get to stir. 🙂 Sometimes I have to stop him from stirring stuff, especially when I’m trying to brown something like mushrooms. With stir fries I let him stir to his heart’s content. 🙂
I need to make some tomato confit for this risotto as it looks really inviting with that beautiful colour and flavour!
Thanks Angie. The flavor is a good as the color. 🙂
Wow MJ, I can see why this is your favorite risotto! This looks so good and I’m especially jealous that you grow your own tomatoes. There’s nothing better than home grown! This is going on my list of things to make this summer when I can get farmers market tomatoes. Tell Bobby he did a great job!
Thanks Jan. You really do need good fresh tomatoes to make that confit. It’s worth the cost and the time and YES, Bobby does an excellent job with this dish! 🙂
Whoa! Get me a ladle!
LOL – Would be happy to provide one! 🙂
This looks excellent! I’ve gotten out of the habit of making risotto — it’s been a couple of years at least since I made some. Really need to make it more — such good stuff. And wow, this looks wonderful — so much flavor. Love the color of it, too. 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks John. It is a nice color, isn’t it? I can guarantee that it taste as good as it looks. 🙂