By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- 5(227)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You could make a different dish with tomatoes and eggplant every day of the summer in Provence. I used a couple of small eggplants for this, but you can use 1 large one if that is what is available. I also used round rice from the Camargue, the Rhone delta region of southern France, which has the same risotto-friendly qualities as arborio rice.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings.
- 1pound eggplant (1 large or 2 small)
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1small onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1pound tomatoes, grated, or peeled, seeded and chopped
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt to taste
- 250grams (1½ cups) arborio rice
- ½cup dry white wine
- 6cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1½ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (⅓ cup)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
281 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 1081 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, and oil the foil. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and with the tip of your knife, make an incision down the middle of the cut sides that goes just about down to, but not through, the skin. Lay the eggplants on the baking sheet, cut side down, and place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the skin has shriveled and the eggplants are beginning to collapse. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until you can handle them, then dice and set aside.
Step
2
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, wide skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it is tender, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant, about 30 seconds, then stir in the tomatoes, thyme, diced eggplant and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant and the eggplant is thoroughly tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
Step
3
Put your stock or broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer on the stove, with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that it is well seasoned. Heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet or saucepan. Pour in the rice and stir just until the grains separate and begin to sizzle. Add the wine and stir until it is no longer visible. Stir in the tomato and eggplant mixture and cook, stirring, for about a minute, until the mixture is well combined and sizzling.
Step
4
Begin adding the simmering stock, a couple of ladlefuls at a time. The stock should just cover the rice, and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Stir often, and when you see that the stock has been absorbed by the rice, add another ladleful. The rice will be cooked through but still chewy after 20 to 25 minutes of adding the stock in increments and stirring. When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, it is done. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt.
Step
5
. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the Parmesan and remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy. Serve right away.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can make this through Step 2 several hours or even a day before you begin the risotto. You can begin the risotto up to several hours before serving: Proceed with the recipe and cook halfway through Step 4 - that is, for about 15 minutes. The rice should still be hard when you remove it from the heat, and there should not be any liquid in the pan. Spread it in an even layer in the pan and keep it away from the heat until you resume cooking. Fifteen minutes before serving, resume cooking as instructed.
Ratings
5
out of 5
227
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Cooking Notes
Randy
I made this tonight with what I had, Japanese eggplant, a large yellow heirloom tomato a red onion. I roasted the eggplant together with the tomato in the oven and used the rendered juices in the dish. I ended up using only 4 cups of vegetable broth and the end result was fantastic. A very delicious risotto that I definitely make again.
Xochitl
Thanks to one of the reviewers, I made this in the pressure cooker. I used 3 1/2 cups broth for the 1 1/2 cup rice, and cooked for 4 minutes at high pressure. After a quick release, I added olives and parsley, and cooked down the remaining liquid, another 5-7 minutes. Topped with parmesan. Delicious!
GreenSageSJ
I made this with barley rather than rice, and it was delicious. We have an abundance of leeks this winter, so I roasted those along with a mix of mushrooms, garlic, fresh thyme, and oregano, as the barley cooked. (For dietary reasons I left tomatoes and cheese out.) I added all the veg to the barley at the end. It was a delicious side dish that I can't wait to enjoy leftover.
cannedyou
As others suggested we added vegetables much later on and used significantly less broth as the vegetables emit a lot of liquid even after straining the eggplant. I would add a lot more herbs to this dish and pepper next time.
Judybird
To give some crunch I added Shredded carrots and parsley on top.
Gracie D
This is the first risotto I’ve ever made. It was delicious! We can’t stop eating it!It didn’t look as pretty as the accompanying photo, though.Thank you!
Chris
Nice risotto! I roasted the tomatoes, halving them and seasoning with salt, thyme, and slices of garlic. Once they got gooey, I chopped them and added them to the rice with the diced eggplant. I thought this deepened the dish’s flavor.
Kelly
Good risotto, but it needed a little something more as it fell a bit flat in flavor- maybe next time I'll add some lemon juice at the end to liven it up a bit. Still a solid recipe and great basis for a good risotto.
jill
We enjoyed this risotto. I didn't think it was a lot of work. It took more time due to roasting the eggplant in the oven but otherwise, no more work than most risottos. I took the advice of one commentator and added the eggplant and tomato near the end as it was obvious that they did not need much more time to cook. The texture was perfect. We added more Parmesan at the table. I don't think saying make sure the broth is well-seasoned is helpful. Seasoning should be adjusted at the end.
Sachi
This turned out delicious! I sliced italian eggplant and grilled it beforehand. I also added mushrooms, sauteeing with the onion and garlic in an instant pot before adding the rice, then wine and broth. I used 3 1/2 c. of veg broth, adding the eggplant and tomato after 2 minutes of high pressure. I had to cook 6 minutes total for the rice to be the correct doneness, so overall this wasn’t really any faster than the conventional stovetop method but obviously less labor intensive.
lynn Arsanis
Great but time consuming followed advice used 4+C of stock and 1C rice but still have about 4 servings of leftover....
Drew F.
For the record, leftovers make a fabulous arancini.
Alice
Roasted cubed eggplant along with some orange bell pepper, olive oil and rosemary in the oven. Fryed a red onion and cherry tomatoes with some garlic and basil. Prepared the risotto rice and added the vegetables in the end with the parmesan. Was wonderful.
Joan
Thank you, Xochitl. I followed most of his recommendations for using a pressure cooker, using 3 1/2 cups broth, 1 1/2 cup rice, the wine, dried thyme, & one 14.5 can of oz diced fire-roasted tomatoes, I also added 4 large green olives that were super hot from being stuffed with hot green peppers (peppers were removed). They were cut into small pieces, & I threw them in with the eggplant. Cooked it all for 4 minutes at high pressure. After cooking,I added parsley & pecorino romano. Super yummy!!!
Michele Markoff
Made this tonight. We’re ITo make this again. I would add the eggplant tomato mixture after the risotto had cooked. It all just fell apart adding it before the broth
Laurie
This did not turn out well. Don’t know what I did wrong but it was the first failure from the NYT Cooking App....
Pat Rooney
Deeeelish! It does take time to cook the EP down but so worth it. Agree with more cheese too. I doubled the cheese.
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