Tomato and rosemary risotto

Being just a tad health conscious, my Italian host has all sorts of interesting flours and grains in her cupboards. Always wanting to try new things, I decided to experiment with one of these today: Riso Venere. According to my host, this rice makes you beautiful (like Venus the God of Beauty: Venere = Venus)... sounds like some powerful grain! Sadly copious quantities of pasta and pizza haven't done wonders for my figure, so I could do with a rice miracle right now. If eating risotto really is the answer to all beauty questions (we can always hope!), I think it may catch on faster than the 5:2 diet, but for now, whilst I wait for my sudden transformation into Venus, I'll just give you the recipe.

In England we often combine lots of colours and flavours on one plate, but in Italy things seem to take a 'quality over quantity' approach. With this in mind, I couldn't help but match my red rice with the fresh red tomatoes I picked up from the grocers yesterday. Add a flavour kick with some chopped rosemary and a little salt and you've got a great dish. I actually added a slightly bigger pinch of salt to this dish than I normally do because the sweetness of the tomatoes really pairs with it beautifully. If you really want to jump on board with the Italian 'simplicity is key' approach to food, then just roughly chop up any spare ripe tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. If I were you, I wouldn't even bother with basil, just let the tomatoes speak for themselves.

Serves 3

6 - 8 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
240g riso venere or riso rosso (red rice... risotto rice would also work)
4 large, ripe tomatoes (ideally on the vine), chopped into small chunks
Small handful of rosemary needles, finely chopped with a good pinch of salt
Pinch of crumbled veg stock cube
Water, simmering
Parmesan and extra oil, to serve

• On a low heat, fry the rosemary, onion, garlic and all but 3 tbsp. of the oil.
• Once softened, add the tomatoes and an extra tbsp. of oil.
• Increase the heat a little to help the tomatoes become a little sticky, rather than pappy.
• Add the rice and cook for a further couple of minutes to let it soak up the oil and tomato juices, stir regularly.
• Now add the stock and a little water and bring the heat back to low.
• Continue stirring and adding water bit at a time until the rice is cooked (about 30 minutes)
• Once the rice is cooked, stir through 2 tbsp. oil and serve topped with extra oil and parmesan.