ROAST TOMATO RISOTTO WITH PESTO CRICKETS
This risotto is absolutely banging! The combination of flavours – roasted tomato and fresh pesto, and the blend of textures – smooth arborio rice and crunchy crickets make you want more than just one portion!
Serves: 2
Time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
Roasted Tomatoes:
Cherry Tomatoes - 200g
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
Crickets:
Vegetable Oil - 3 tbsp
Pesto:
Basil Leaves - 20g
Parmesan Cheese - 20g
Toasted Pine Nuts - 15g
Garlic Clove - 1
Olive Oil - 35g
Salt and Black Pepper
Risotto:
Butter - 20g Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Banana Shallot - 1 (finely diced) Garlic Clove - 1 (finely chopped) Tomato Purée - 1 tbsp Risotto Rice - 150g Dry White Wine - 50ml Vegetable Stock - 500ml Grated Parmesan Cheese - 40g (grated (plus extra to serve) Salt and Black Pepper
METHOD
ROAST THE TOMATOES | 30 mins
Heat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional).
Toss the tomatoes with olive oil in a roasting dish and season lightly with salt and black pepper.
Roast for 30 minutes until burst open and just starting to blacken around the edges.
Allow to cool a little before blitzing to a puree with a stick blender or liquidiser.
PREP THE PESTO | 3 mins
Use a stick blender or a food processor to blitz all the ingredients to a paste.
Season with salt and black pepper.
PREP THE CRICKETS | 3 mins
Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan, then add the crickets, season with salt and black pepper, and fry over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Set aside while you make the risotto.
MAKE THE RISOTTO | 30 mins
Heat butter with olive oil in a large sauté pan.
Finely dice the shallots and add to the pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly until softened.
Add the garlic, and cook a minute further, stirring all the time.
Stir in the tomato purée, followed by the rice, and stir constantly over a medium heat for two minutes before adding the wine.
Stir in the wine, then simmer until it’s almost all evaporated.
Add half the stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the stock has mostly been absorbed.
Stir in the roasted tomato puree, then gradually add more stock, a little at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more.
After about 20-22 minutes taste a grain of rice - it should be just done, still al dente. If not, continue to add stock little by little until it’s done. You might need a touch more or less than the 500ml specified.
Once the rice is done, remove it from the heat, add the remaining butter and the grated parmesan, then beat it vigorously with a wooden spoon until really glossy and creamy. The finished risotto should be loose enough that a spoonful would spread across a plate, so stir in a touch more stock if necessary to reach this consistency.
Taste, and add more salt and/or black pepper if necessary.
Toss the crickets in the pesto, turning to ensure they’re well-coated, then divide the crickets between each portion of risotto.
Serve immediately with extra parmesan and some torn basil leaves to garnish.
Cook this recipe with our Ready to Cook Dried Crickets.