My nonna Emma was born and raised in the Veneto countryside, where there were few ingredients, but a great deal of hunger after so much hard work in the fields. As a young girl, she ate a lot of polenta, eggs and soups, but always held tomato sauce dear. After moving to Milan it came to be an ingredient that appeared in almost every dish, including risotto. Her idea for tomato risotto was very simple, but also quite original. She pretended that the rice was pasta. She would cook it al dente and then season it with tomato sauce that she had previously prepared with a sautéed onion and peeled tomatoes that she’d reduce to a fine pulp with the right kitchen tool. This is the recipe I wrote while thinking of all that time I spent in the kitchen waiting for it to be ready, and of the sprinkle of grated Grana Padano cheese that gave it the extra magic touch.
The recipe for risotto with tomato sauce
Ingredients:
For the sauce: 18 oz. peeled tomatoes, 1/2 yellow onion, extra-virgin olive oil, basil, salt
For the rice: 11 oz. Carnaroli rice, coarse salt
Method:
Finely chop the onion and sauté it until it’s lightly colored. Then add the peeled tomatoes that you’ve sieved into a sauce, along with their liquid and some basil. Mix well, add salt and cook it covered over low heat for 40 minutes. Once it’s ready, remove it from the heat and let it cool. Now cook the rice in plenty of salted boiling water and drain when cooked al dente. Mix it with the sauce in its saucepan, serve and complete with a sprinkling of grated cheese.