Ratatouille Risotto

My brother in law makes a fantastic risotto, and yesterday I had a craving for it. Alas, he lives in Newcastle and I don't have his recipe so I had to make one myself.

Ingredients

1 large tin ratatouille/homemade (see post below)

500ml canned whole tomatoes, drained and liquid reserved

2 pints vegetable stock

1/2 pint chicken stock

1 tblsp butter

1 tblsp olive oil

2 shallots/1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlice, chopped finely

1 cup (arborio) rice

2 bay leaves/1 tsp dried basil

100g parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Pour the tomato liquid into a saucepan and add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil

2. Lower the heat to simmer, keep the mixture hot during the cooking process

3. In a large bowl mash the tomatoes into chunks with the back of a wooden spoon, set aside

4. In a large stock/soup pan, melt the butter and heat olive oil together

5.Add the shallots/onion and garlic and cook slowly until a purée-like texture is formed (about 10 mins)

6. Remove the shallots/onion and garlic and blot on a paper towel, return to the stove over a medium heat

7. Add rice and using a wooden spoon move around the pan until the rice starts to toast and smells butty (about 4-5 mins)

8. Add chicken stock and slowly reduce, stirring gently

9. Add the hot vegetable stock and tomato juice mixture slowly (a cup at a time)

10. Stir after each addition until the liquid is absorbed and the mixture thickens (you may not need all of the stock mixture)

11. Add the bay leaves/basil after the third addition

12. After around 15 mins add the mashed tomatoes

13. When the rice is al dente (around 20 - 25 mins) remove from the heat and add the ratatouille

14. Add the lemon juice and stir in the cheese

Serves : 4

Preparation time : 10 mins

Cooking time : 1 hour