Creamy Tomato Rice with Sausage and Peas

It’s basically a weeknight tomato risotto! We’re taking all the fussy steps out of the process, and building a delicious flavour bomb to cook the rice in. Think cherry tomatoes, garlic, white wine, Italian sausage and peas. The only caveat is you can’t walk away entirely, the pot does need to be stirred every 5-10 minutes, but it’s totally worth it. Serve with toasted breadcrumbs or a generous grating of parmesan, if that’s all you have time for!

Equipment

Here’s everything you need to make weeknight tomato risotto at home:

• thick-bottomed skillet with lid, like a Dutch oven or braiser
• chef’s knife
• cutting board
• wooden spoon or spatula
• cheese grater

Get the full instructions and ingredients list below!

Cooking Tips

1. The idea for this recipe came from a need to use leftover rice that I bought for risotto, but didn’t get through. As far as flavour-profile goes, I essentially wanted to make the inside of a classic Roman arancini, but more approachable and comforting — now tell me, what’s more comforting than a warm bowl of spoonable rice? That said, the best rice to use is arborio, but you can make it with carnaroli (the preferred risotto-making rice). I haven’t tried any other types, so if you do, please let me know how it turned out! There’s a comment box below.
2. I used to be of the belief that cooking with tomatoes during the Canadian winter was a big no — and for a long time that was true. But in the last few years I’ve noticed an influx of Canadian-grown cherry tomatoes sold during the winter months. I’ve now bought them a dozen-or-so times and been repeatedly impressed with the flavour. I don’t know how they’re doing in these greenhouses but it’s really cool! Look for locally-grown cherry tomatoes when you’re out shopping, but if you don’t see them, grape tomatoes will also work. We’re cooking them down anyway, so not a huge deal if the flavour is 100% there. Personally, I always try to buy local when it’s available, and a winter tomato (that’s actually delicious) is worth every penny.
3. I like serving it with toasted breadcrumbs! The recipe I used is in my post for creamy kale pasta, so check that out if you’re interested — or skip it and finish with a generous grating of parmesan.

Creamy Tomato Rice with Sausage and Peas

5 from 1 vote

Basically weeknight tomato risotto

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 600 g cherry tomatoes or grape
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup arborio rice or carnaroli
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 Italian sausages about 400g
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan plus more for serving
• olive oil
• salt I'm using Diamond Crystal Kosher
• cracked black pepper

Method

 

1. Cut 600g cherry tomatoes in half length-wise. Thinly slice 3 garlic cloves and peel and discard the casings from 4 Italian sausages.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan (with matching lid) on medium-high. Break the sausages into bite-sized pieces and transfer to the hot oil. Cook on one side until golden brown, then using a wooden spoon, break into smaller dime-sized pieces. Remove and set aside.
3. Back in the pan, reduce heat to medium and add 1/4 cup olive oil followed by the halved tomatoes. Season generously with 1/2 tsp salt and cook until soft enough to squish with the back of a spoon. When all the tomatoes are smashed, it should look like a rustic tomato sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup arborio rice and cook until slightly translucent, about 2 more minutes. Deglaze with 1/2 cup white wine and cook until the alcohol smell is gone and you're left with a sweet, tomato-y aroma. Add 3 cups water and another 1/2 tsp salt. Add in 1/2 cup frozen peas and the cooked sausage, stir until well-incorporated. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes, removing the lid to give it a good stir every 5-10. You should stir it about 3 times total, throughout the total cook time.
5. When the rice is cooked, cut the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup parmesan and a few cracks of black pepper. Serve with toasted breadcrumbs or more parmesan and enjoy!