This week’s farmers’ market had the most beautiful grape tomatoes in the history of the world. Impulsively, I bought three baskets. Whoa! What does one person (and a small sweet dog) do with three baskets of ripe tomatoes?
So, this morning I bucked myself up with a little self-talk that I can do this and, by mid-morning, I’m beginning to work my way through my abundance of tomatoes. First stop, this wonderful grape tomato and basil risotto.
Upside: This risotto is decadently delicious. Downside: There is that boring part where you have to stand over the stove and stir six cups of broth into the rice for twenty long minutes. No. That’s not a typo. Twenty boring minutes stirring. Ugh!
I got through it partly with the help of Alexa, my Amazon bestie. She played a medley of love songs sung by Michael Feinstein as I stirred away. (My favorite Feinstein song, by the way, is the bittersweet Where Do You Start. Give it a listen. It is extraordinary. You’ll never look at your collection of books and “tapes” the same way again. (Michael Feinstein : Where Do You Start?) If you don’t know about Michael Feinstein and have romance in your soul, I recommend that you treat yourself to his album Isn’t It Romantic? It will improve your risotto game. I promise.
This recipe is an adaptation of one I learned in a Sur La Table cooking class in Costa Mesa taught by gifted chef Jennifer King.
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