Flavorful risotto made with a delicate tomato essence and fresh vegetables, combining creamy rice and vibrant summer tastes.
Raymond Blanc’s tomato essence risotto
Ingredients for the essence:
1250g Tomatoes- cherry, ripe and washed
30g Celery, washed and finely chopped
10g Shallots, peeled and finely chopped
50g Fennel, finely chopped
½ clove Garlic, peeled and sliced
½ sprig Thyme leaves, chopped
Basil, leaves chopped
10g Sea salt
10g Sugar (optional) (*1)
1 pinch Cayenne pepper
Ingredients for the risotto:
½ an onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
30ml olive oil
200g Carnaroli rice (*2)
7pinches sea salt
2 pinches white pepper
300ml hot water
300ml tomato essence (recipe above)
Ingredients to finish risotto:
1 tsp Butter, unsalted
40g peas, shelled
40g broad beans, baby
40g baby carrots, washed and sliced
30g Mascarpone cream
20g Parmesan, finely grated
40g Tomatoes, cherry vine cut in half
3 sprigs Chervil leaves, chopped
2 sprigs Basil leaves, chopped
1 sprig Parsley leaves, chopped
Making the tomato essence:
In a food processor, blitz all the ingredients together 3 times for 2 seconds each, using the pulse button (*3). Allow to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 3 hours. Hang in a double folded muslin cloth to collect the liquid, reserve.
Cooking the risotto:
Bring the water to the boil. Soften the onion and garlic in the olive oil on a low heat until soft (approximately 2 minutes) Stir in the rice and continue to cook on medium heat for 2 minutes until the grains of rice appear translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add the hot water; stir until it has all been absorbed simmering (bubbles breaking the surface). Follow this with the essence and continue cooking the rice as before. The rice will take 20 – 25 minutes to cook to perfection (*4).
After 20 minutes add all the vegetables, cook for a further 5 minutes stirring continually; add the parmesan, mascarpone, tomatoes and herbs.
Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve.
Chef’s notes:
To make a great tomato essence, you need to source the very best tomatoes. We use cherry tomatoes because they are sweeter. An un-ripe tomato or poor variety will give you a poor quality of essence.
We have chosen Carnaroli rice as we believe it is the best. It not only gives a good flavour but also the best flavour and texture. It is cultivated mainly in the Piemonte region of Italy.
Over blitzing the tomatoes to a purée will break down the tomato skin and give a completely different, coarser flavour. The colour will also be red, whilst we are looking for a pale gold colour, which is the heart of the tomato.
Risotto is a simple dish but a complicated process. The stirring of the risotto will bring out the natural starch, give it a creamy consistency and also distribute the heat to give an even cooking of the rice.
Over-cooking the risotto only takes 1–2 minutes, so taste at all stages of cooking and remember practice makes perfect.
Variations:
The remaining tomato pulp could also be used to add into the risotto in place of the extra vegetables. The different risottos are endless; shellfish, asparagus, mushroom, pumpkin are just a few….
source raymondblanc.com July 2009
