Tomato and red pepper risotto

Before going vegan, I used to love making a big pot of super cheesy tomato risotto. It's one of those meals that is just so comforting. So, of course, I had to try making a vegan alternative. One pot, lots of goodness, an hour of cooking and you get a really yummy and satisfying meal. I used wholegrain risotto rice but you can use white risotto rice or short-grain rice instead. 

You will need (serves 2-3): 

1 cup whole grain risotto rice (soaked overnight) 

1 onion

1 red pepper

1 carrot

2 cloves garlic 

1x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato puree

3 cups vegetable stock (made with one stock cube)

12 cherry tomatoes 

1 teaspoon herbs de provence 

1 teaspoon basil 

4 tablespoons nutritional yeast 

salt and pepper to taste 

Method: 

- Finely chop the onion and cut the carrot and pepper into fairly small chunks. 

- Fry the onion, pepper and carrot in a little olive oil over a medium heat in a large pot for 5 minutes, until softened. 

- Mince the garlic and add this to the pot. Fry everything for a further minute. 

- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add these to the pot along with the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, vegetable stock, risotto rice, herbs and a little salt and pepper.  

- Leave the risotto to simmer over a low heat for an hour, adding more water if necessary. 

- After an hour, add the nutritional yeast and stir through.

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