Creamy Tomato Risotto with Crispy Garlic Crumbs

A deliciously moreish Creamy Tomato Risotto topped with crispy garlic breadcrumbs – made with mainly store cupboard ingredients.

Ingredients
Risotto:
400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
240 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato puree paste for US
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic peeled and minced
150 g (3/4 cup) Arborio rice
80 ml (1/3 cup) white wine optional, replace with stock if you’d prefer
3 tbsp double (heavy) cream
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese or vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese if you want it vegetarian
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
good pinch salt and black pepper
Crispy Garlic Crumbs:
1 tbsp butter
¼ tsp Maldon salt or just a good pinch of normal salt
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
4 tbsp (30 g) panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp chopped parsley
zest of half a lemon
3 tbsp (20g) parmesan or vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese if you want it vegetarian

Instructions
✅First, make your tomato-based stock. Place the tin of chopped tomatoes into a large jug. Add in the vegetable stock and tomato puree and stir. Heat this stock in a small pan or in the microwave until almost boiling, then turn off the heat.
✅Heat oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to go translucent, add in the garlic, stir and cook for a further minute.
✅Add in the rice and stir until the oil has coated the rice. Add in the wine and stir.
✅Wait for the wine to almost fully absorb (stirring regularly) and then add the tomato stock a ladle at a time, ensuring each ladle has almost fully absorbed before adding the next. Ensure you stir regularly
✅After about 15-20 minutes you should have used up all of the stock. Have a taste of the rice. It should be softer, but still have a bit of a bite to it (it will soften up further when you add the cream). If the rice is still too hard, you can add in a ladle or so of water. Turn the heat down to very low.
✅Next, make your crispy garlic crumbs. Heat the butter in a small frying pan until it starts to foam slightly.
✅Add the salt and the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
✅Add in the breadcrumbs and stir to ensure the butter covers all of the breadcrumbs. Allow to cook until the breadcrumbs start to brown a little, stirring often. Keep a close eye on them as they burn very easily. When ready, turn off the heat and add in the parsley, lemon zest, and parmesan.
✅Now go back to your risotto. Add in the cream, parmesan, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Give everything a good stir, whilst on the heat, and then serve topped with the crispy breadcrumbs.