Oven Baked Asparagus And Tomato Risotto

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 600 g asparagus, trimmed
• 1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 500 g ripe plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 fat red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• 250 g risotto rice
• 600 ml boiling water
• 1 teaspoon saffron strand
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius. heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan, add the asparagus and fry for 3-4 minutes until browned. sprinkle over the paprika. transfer to a shallow ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon.
• 2 add the remaining oil to the frying pan and fry the onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. add the tomatoes, red chili pepper and sugar. season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. spoon over the top of the asparagus and put on the bottom shelf of the oven.
• 3 put the risotto rice into a non-stick roasting tin, cover with the boiling water and stir in the saffron. cover with foil and place in the oven on the shelf above the asparagus. cook for 20-25 minutes until the rice is just cooked and the asparagus is tender.
• 4 fluff up the rice with a fork and spoon onto warmed individual plates. spoon over the asparagus and tomatoes and garnish with the basil leaves.