Sundried Tomato Risotto

On a Wednesday evening, I somehow felt the urge for a mid-week party. Wine was the only thing which could have helped me to be not whiney in the middle of a boring work-week. So I decided to find out a dish that can be cooked with wine.

Browsing through food blogs, I decided to cook Risotto. I had tried mushroom risotto in Florence, Italy and weren't too thrilled with that recipe. I wanted to make a tomato based risotto and found an answer through the Pioneer Women, our favourite blog (http://thepioneerwoman.com).

Here goes our version of the Risotto - Its creamy, tangy, and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

2 Medium Onions, finely chopped

7-8 Sundried tomatoes, chopped

3 Tsp Tomato puree (our little effect)

1 cup Idli rice (The recipe of course calls for Arborio rice, but the Idli rice found easily in India is a great substitute)

2 tsp butter

3/4^th cup Dry white wine (We used Chenin Blanc but Chardonnay will go too)

1 litre Chicken / veg stock

½ cup fresh cream

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese + 1tsp more for garnishing

Dry basil

Black pepper

Salt (Only if you are using low-sodium stock)

Method

1. In a pan, heat butter and sauté onion and garlic till golden brown

2. Add rice to it and stir them for 3 minutes

3. Throw in some chopped sundried tomatoes and tomato puree

4. Here comes the yummy part, adding wine to it. Cook it till rice absorbs all the wine. Meanwhile, heat stock in a separate pan.

5. After the wine is absorbed, add 1 cup of stock at a time. Cook it till rice absorbs and then add more stock till the rice is cooked. This calls for some patience but here is where it become creamy

6. Add 1tbsp cheese to it. And then add the cream and stir. Creamy texture of the rice will become more creamy and rich.

7. Add dry basil to it. Top it with freshly crackled black pepper and adjust salt, if needed.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with chilled wine. Yummmmmmmm…