about 6 cups hot vegetable broth
1 stick unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups risotto rice (i use arborio)
2/3 cup white wine
1 lb baby plum tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
8 oz young fresh spinach leaves, washed and drained
2 cups fresh arugula leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve

put the broth in a saucepan and keep at a gentle simmer. melt half the butter in a large, heavy saucepan and add the onion. cook gently for 10 minutes until soft, golden, and translucent but not browned. add the rice and stir until well coated with the butter and heated through. pour in the wine and boil hard to reduce until it has almost disappeared. this will remove the taste of raw alcohol. remove from the heat.

put the tomatoes in a roasting pan and sprinkle with olive oil. mix well to coat, then season with salt and pepper. roast in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until slightly colllapsed with the skins beginning to brown. remove from the oven and set aside.

return the risotto to the heat, warm through, and begin adding the broth, a large ladle at a time, stirring gently until each ladle has been almost absorbed into the rice. the risotto should be kept at a bare simmer throughout cooking, so don’t let the rice dry out – add more broth as necessary. continue until the rice is tender and creamy, but the grains still firm. (this should take between 15-20 minutes depending on the type of rice used – check the package instructions.) just before the risotto is cooked, stir in the spinach and arugula. taste and season with salt and pepper, then beat in the remaining butter and parmesan. you may like to add a little more hot broth at this stage to loosen the risotto.

cover and let rest for a couple of minutes so the risotto can relax, the cheese melt, and the spinach and arugula wilt. fold in the tomatoes and their juices, then serve immediately.

serves 4