Instructions

To roast the vegetables

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, Gas Mark 4)and add the olive oil to a roasting tin.
2. Chop the vegetables into small chunks and spread out in the tin, adding the salt and pepper before giving everything a shake to coat.
3. Roast for 30 minutes.

To make the risotto

1. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a shallow casserole dish or large frying pan, on a low-medium heat.
2. Sauté the onion for a few minutes before adding the minced garlic and cooking for another minute.
3. Stir in the rice with the vinegar and stir for approx 30 seconds, to coat it in the oil.
4. Pour in the passata and vegetable stock, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating between the two. Allow each amount to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next.
5. After 20 minutes, add in the sundried tomatoes and the roasted vegetables. Give everything a stir, adding more liquid if needed, and cook for a further 5 minutes until everything is cooked through and the rice is done.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, salt and pepper and cheese (if using). Feel free to stir in any extra butter at this point for an extra creamy risotto.
7. Serve right away and enjoy!

Tips

• * Don't skimp on the salt here. You want it to taste nice, so that means salt. Salt flakes are even better.
• ** Having cherry tomatoes, passata and sundried tomates can be a bit much, so you can remove one of these ingredients if you want less tomato. If you replace the passata, add more veg stock
• *** Traditional parmesan contains animal rennet, but you can get vegetarian versions in most supermarkets nowadays. Look for 'Italian hard cheese' or 'vegetarian parmesan'. Go for the blocks (and grate using a small grater) instead of the pre-grated stuff if you can.