Sluttishly Savoury: Tomato and Chilli Risotto

I honestly don't know why some people don't bother with risotto simply because the stirring takes a while. This is exactly the moment to put some really good telly on your laptop, hook it up next to your cooker and zone out blissfully for half an hour or so.

This red risotto is chocful of store cupboard essentials, very easy to make, and incredibly tasty. It has a lovely unctuous texture, far more so than my usual recipe.

Tomato and chili risotto (serves four)

You will need:

• olive oil
• two onions, peeled and diced
• three large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• six cherry tomatoes, halved
• one large red chilli pepper, finely chopped with seeds removed
• 400g arborio rice
• two glasses of white wine
• 1.5 litres chicken stock (use two stock cubes if that way inclined, I know I am)
• one tin chopped tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• butter
• hard cheese

Make it!

Heat up a large saucepan and add a few sprays of olive oil followed by the onions and garlic. When nearly cooked, add the cherry tomatoes and cook a little more. Add your rice and stir round well. Cook for a couple of minutes until the rice is going slightly translucent (although you'll be cooking it for a while, so don't panic if you forget.)

Add the wine, a glass at a time, and let the rice soak it up. Then start adding your stock, a ladleful at a time - you know the drill! Watch your programme. I watched the rest of 21 Jump Street on Netflix. It was alright!

Let the rice absorb almost all the liquid,  then add another ladleful. And give it a good stir throughout, or you'll end up with a lovely layer of burned rice on the bottom of the pan.

About halfway through your stock, add the tin of tomatoes and your chili, and let the rice absorb the liquid. Add a few good grinds of salt and pepper, then continue adding your stock. Now, you've got more liquid than usual here so the rice won't absorb it all. This is not a problem. In fact, it will lead to that really lovely texture.

When you've added all your stock, let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then add a dollop of butter and remove from the heat. Let it rest for a couple more minutes,  then stir it through. Serve with pepper and grated cheese on top (gran padano or cheddar are both great). Enjoy!

Top tip: when heating up your risotto the next day, add some water (or some wine) and let it absorb into the rice to bring back that nice gooey, rich consistency).

@rupinjapan had a crack at it. Yay wine!

@daisy_fay wins points for presentation