Risotto might be one of my favorite comfort foods. I love how creamy it gets and just how much flavor cooks into it. I have a few more in mind but this is an oldy-but-goody. I think I last made it for a girls night dinner circa 2008. This one is red and would be a fun Valentines Day dinner…if you wanted to be thematic.
Risotto really gets a bad rap for being difficult but I don’t agree at all. This one also packs an extra veggie punch with the tomato juice.
Ingredients
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups tomato juice
1/4 cup water or white wine
1 zucchini
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Directions
Toast rice in olive oil for 5 minutes until slightly golden.
Chop zucchini into disks then into quarters.
Warm tomato juice and water/wine over low heat.
Add one cup of the hot liquid at a time until absorbed.
When adding the very last of the liquid, add the zucchini to cook for 5 minutes.
Mix in parmesan and serve.
I sprinkled in some rosemary flor de sal I got in Italy and it was a great use for it. I considered it our starch and our veggie. We had some grilled turkey kilbasa with it too for an easy dinner. The leftovers were good too though they’re a bit more sticky.
Low sodium tomato juice would work well too if your blood-pressure isn’t ridiculously low like mine. Maybe next time I’ll use my trusty Kitchen Ready tomatoes/sauce since the tomato chunks might be good in there too.