Weeknight Risotto

Risotto with confit tomatoes & pesto

With a foolproof recipe for risotto in the pressure cooker you can have a filling and delicious meal on the table in less than one hour. I love making risotto on the stovetop, but I don’t have time to stand there and stir rice for 45 minutes. Using my pressure cooker requires very little hands-on time, only a few ingredients, and I can prep other items while it’s cooking. It’s SO MUCH EASIER!

I own three pressure cookers, so clearly, I love them. I have two Instant Pots (a 6 quart and an 8 quart) and one Ninja (this one has an air fryer too). I use them for all sorts of things.

I came up with this recipe because I had tomatoes on the counter that had seen better days, I was craving risotto, & I had some pesto sauce in a jar in the fridge. So, I did a basic risotto in the pressure cooker, confit tomatoes in the microwave, grilled up some chicken thighs, spooned pesto over the top, and grated a ton of parmesan. It was delicious!!

To get this meal on the table in less than an hour I do a super quick marinade on the chicken to start and then get the risotto going. Once I hit “start” on the pressure cooker, I start my tomatoes. Once those are in the microwave I grill the chicken. While the chicken is grilling I’ll make a salad to go with dinner.

If you aren’t into tomatoes & pesto you can use literally anything else. Saute, roast, or grill the veggies you want. Aren’t feeling chicken tonight, steak, shrimp, fish, scallops, a pork chop; use what you want. This risotto recipe is a base and can be turned into the meal you want to eat.

Ingredients for the risotto 

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1.5 C Arborio rice

1 diced yellow onion (a medium-sized one)

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

3/4 C white wine (if you don’t have it just use more chicken stock)

4 C chicken stock 

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Ingredients for the confit tomatoes

1 C cherry tomatoes, halved

1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (don’t have fresh, use 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pesto-use this recipe or get your favorite store-bought!

Method for risotto:

Turn the pressure cooker on “saute”

Once hot, add the butter and olive oil

Once the butter has melted add the onion & the garlic. Stirring frequently, being careful not to let the garlic burn. About 3-4 minutes.

After the onion becomes translucent, add the rice. Stir frequently until toasted but now brown. They should look like teeny-tiny ice cubes, translucent on the edges & cloudy in the middle. This should take another 3-4 minutes.

Add salt & pepper to taste.

Add wine, and cook, stirring, until the raw alcohol smell is gone and the wine is almost gone, about two minutes.

Add the chicken stock, and cook on low pressure for 5 minutes. You can do a quick release or let it hang out until you’re ready to use it.

When you open the pressure cooker it will look soupy. Just give it a good stir. You can add parmesan (about 1-2 ounces) or people can add their own.

Tomato Confit Method (in the microwave)

I use this recipe from the Cook Anyday website.

Place all ingredients in your Cook Anyday dish and mix until fully coated. If you don’t own these products, use a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave, uncovered, for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool just a bit, and top your risotto with them.

I use these in oatmeal, on toast, on pasta, rice. It goes with so many things! I often double it.

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