Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Ariosto Seasoning - Risotto with Tomato Sauce


First thing first, I have just launched my fan page on Facebook.  If you enjoy my recipes, feel free to click on the Facebook logo below and "Like" my page. I guess by now, we have Facebook accounts so, I will use this opportunity to share with you some food news, interesting finds and recipes made by others, and even some cool science facts related to my field of research in nanotechnology. I love sharing my finds on Twitter and on my own personal wall. Feel free to post on the wall your favorite recipe, questions and comments.


While I was in a conference at Cambridge, I was contacted by an Italian company called Ariosto which sells all-natural seasoning mixes. I like their idea that they sell more than the basic Italian seasonings that are usually found in supermarkets. They have seasonings for potatoes, fishes, pasta sauces, roast beef, chicken, and even omelettes. If you are not the type of person who preserve herbs in your fridge, these products can be suitable for you.


I didn't hesitate to say yes when it comes to Italian food, so the company sent me samples of their products. On their website, there are some interesting and creative recipes that are published by other food bloggers, and some of them, I know quite well. Anyhow, I wanted to make a dish that doesn't intervene with any of the food bloggers. I was thinking of making something with the seasoning for tomato sauce. One would instantly think of mixing tomato sauce into pasta. I think tomato sauce has more than one purpose...

I was inspired from a few of my past recipes like Beef with Tomatoes, Rice with Shrimp Egg Sauce and Artichoke Risotto with Pesto. All these have a generous amount of sauce and served with a fair amount of rice. In fact, why not make a basic tomato sauce and mix it into a risotto?


Do you have a killer tomato sauce to share? Have you used tomato sauce other than on pasta? Please do post your recipe link on the comment section, I will definitely read it.

Serves 2
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Simmering Time: 45 mins to 1 hour for tomato sauce
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Ariosto seasoning for tomato based sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes

Risotto
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
4-5 cups warm vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce
2 tbsps butter (optional)
Parsley for garnish
Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Prepare tomato sauce. In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add Ariosto seasoning to the pan and brown it for a few seconds.


2. Add tomatoes with its juice and cut them into cubes with scissors. Bring to low heat. Simmer for 45 mins to 1 hour, uncovered until thickened.


3. Prepare risotto. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tbsp of butter and oil over medium heat. Cook chopped onion until transparent, about 5 mins. Set aside.

4. Add Arborio rice to skillet and cook until translucent. Add a ladle of broth until the rice has adsorbed most of the liquid. Stir frequently. Bring back cooked onion to skillet.

5. Continue adding a ladle of broth at a time, stirring until liquid is almost fully adsorbed.

6. After 15 mins, once rice is almost done, stir in 1 1/2 cups of the prepared tomato sauce.


7. Continue adding broth in the same manner until rice is al dente. For a creamy texture, stir in 2 tbsps of butter.


8. Spoon risotto onto serving plates. Garnish with parsley and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

33 comments:

  1. That looks amazing! Do they sell those spices in the states? I've never seen that packaging before.
    Nice to hear from you again.
    Sandy

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  2. Feel like finishing that whole platter rite now,delicious risotto..

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  3. Love risotto too! This is perfect for my lunch.

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  4. I haven't come across this brand before. Sounds convenient for sure. The risotto has bright colors, definitely appealing

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  5. Oooh! That looks lovely! Gotta love freebies :) I'm pretty subdued in my tomato sauce usage. Even when I make a pizza I just like a little bit. I think its a great flavor but for me it can easily overpower a dish.

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  6. Victor look absolutely yum!! gloria

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  7. Victor, this looks fantastic!! I have some sauce recipes, if I get some time over the weekend I'll dig them up and send you links. I do think your tomato sauce is lovely... very simple and I like that in a sauce!

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  8. I love risotto too! Will bring my mooncake over :D

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  9. I love the idea of using my summer tomatoes in this - I tend to make risotto only in cool weather - so a grand idea. I need a good summer risotto. As for tomato sauces - I use a different one for each season - depending on its needs. And it goes into soups and atop baked vegetables, too.

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  10. Lovely risotto! As for tomato sauce use, Laurent made pizza last night. He's recently switched from using filtered tomato purée to cooking and roughly crushing whole tomatoes - it tastes amazing!. I also love to make crustless pizza, or pizza scappata: http://thechocobunny.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-use-fresh-mozzarella-in-winter.html

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  11. Looks so tangy and mouthwatering Victor

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  12. I have still never made risotto...this one looks and sounds amazing.

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  13. oh that looks great i adore red and green combo, they beautifully sparkle. oh yes i have made tomato with basil sauce to bake with egg plant and rice with some cheese! and yes tentatively i will wind up in feb post doc search will start pretty soon, but holiday and break stand first on the list :)

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  14. This risotto looks aromatic and amazing (I'm in the alliteration mood today!). I also fanned you on fb and followed you on Twitter!

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  15. I haven't heard of ariosto before but your recipe will definitely a hit at home :)

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  16. Your risotto looks wonderful. A creative idea to use tomato sauce. Have not seen Ariosto over here, maybe because did not notice them in the first place, until now! :)

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  17. I love risotto! This reminds me of a tomato based risotto I had a while ago at a cafe- it was so yummy! Now I want to try this recipe ;)

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  18. This looks delicious!!! Full of colors and tang.... yummy.

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  19. I've never tried a tomato-based risotto but I should - I looks so good! My latest tomato sauce was with fresh tomatoes from my garden: http://savoringtimeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/08/fresh-tomato-pasta-with-herbed.html

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  20. Your risotto looks delicious! Now I'm following you on your facebook fan page and twitter! :-)

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  21. didnt know there's seasoning for omelettes too until now. That's very innovative! Never eaten risotto but looks like chinese style of braised rice..At home i cook a lot of fish dishes using tomato sauce but never posted up. Just a little seasoning of salt and sugar, some chopped coriander and onions and cook that with tomato sauce, then pour the gravy over the fried fish.

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  22. I love risotto and this one looks awesome. Very cool about the seasoning packets, what a variety they have.

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  23. This risotto dish is beautiful. It looks so rich with tomatoes. Delicious.

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  24. this is gorgeous! i have never thought to do risotto this way, love it!

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  25. looks delicious .. great .. thanks for sharing ..

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  26. I usually make risotto with creamy sauce but I am sure it is tasty with tomato sauce too:D

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  27. Oooh! That looks lovely! Gotta love freebies :) I'm pretty subdued in my tomato sauce usage. Even when I make a pizza I just like a little bit. I think its a great flavor but for me it can easily overpower a dish.

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  28. Ketchup is a sweet ingredient, i don't highly recommended. If you want real tomato flavour, you should use a 6oz. can of tomato paste with some herb added. Add it when the risotto is almost done. Let me know how it turns out, I'm curious of the result :)

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  29. The post is composed in extremely a decent way and it contains numerous helpful data for me. italian pizza dough recipe

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