No "RCP" because as usual for me, this is more an outline than a step-by-step. I made this last night and was astonished at how good it was. This is slightly more involved than usual (uses two sautee pans), but the payoff is a great blend of textures and very, very vivid flavor.
Now a warning. This dish can ONLY be made when there are ripe, sweet, juicy, fresh tomatoes available. Try to use stuff from a can or grocery store cardboard tomatoes and this will be AWFUL.
Take a couple of big red tomatoes (I used some heirlooms) and a couple of smaller, darker tomatoes (I used some dark green and dark red striped jobs) and remove the stems, cut a small cross in the bottom, then plunge in boiling water for 10-20 seconds. Then remove the tomatoes with tongs and put them into an ice water bath for 20 seconds. Remove from the bath, then peel, seed, and cube. (There's nothing magic about this mix, mix what you can find to get a color and flavor you like)
Bring 5 or 6 cups of a good hearty vegetable bouillon to the simmer. Dice 3-4 fat shallots. Put a generous knob of butter into a big, wide-bottomed sautee pan and heat until the butter starts to foam and sizzle. Add the shallots and stir. In a separate sautee pan, heat some more butter, then add one cup of carnaroli rice. Stir to coat and cook with occasional stirring until the rice starts looking transparent with a small white core.
While the rice is cooking, crush and finely mince two or three cloves of garlic. Add them to the frying shallots and stir. Cook for 20-30 seconds until you can smell the garlic, then add the cubed tomatoes and salt (don't be afraid of it, tomatoes eat up salt, but keep in mind the relative saltiness of your bouillon). Stir in the rice from the other sautee pan and half a cup of white wine. Turn up the heat until things are at a good bubbliness- if you've made risotto before, you know what you're looking for. Stir often enough to keep things from sticking and to allow the rice to cook evenly.
The tomatoes will give up a lot of juice and start to collapse. When the pan starts looking a little dryer, add the bouillon, one cup at a time, and continue heating and stirring in the usual risotto way. When everything looks like it's nearly at the texture and soupiness you want, stir in a handful of basil leaves cut into fine ribbons. Take the pan off the heat, stir in a handful or two of Parmesan, then plate. Garnish with a little basil leaf, a bit of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
("RCP" added by Robin to torment Stuart)
