ROASTED TOMATO ORZOTTO

Combine the tomatoes, sliced garlic, basil leaves, a good drizzle of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper in a small baking dish (you want the tomatoes to be piling on top of one another). Give everything a good mix, then roast for 25-30 minutes, until tender and jammy. Allow to cool slightly, then blend 1/2 of roasted tomatoes, garlic and basil with all the liquid from the tray, until completely smooth. Set both the blended tomatoes and remaining roasted veg aside for later.

Heat your largest frying pan over a medium heat and add a good glug of olive oil. Once hot, add the shallots and a pinch of salt and fry for 4-5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the tomato puree and fry for a further minute or so, until darker in colour. Stir the orzo into the pan to coat it in the tomato puree.

Add a ladleful of the hot stock to the orzo and stir continuously. Once all the stock has been absorbed into the orzo, add another ladleful of stock. Repeat this step, stirring continuously between ladlefuls of stock, until the orzo is tender and creamy. If you find your orzo is still too al dente after using up all your stock, you can add another ladleful of liquid – either make up a little more stock or just use boiling water from the kettle.

Add the cream cheese, parmesan and blended tomatoes into the orzo and stir well to combine. Remove from the heat, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Serve the orzotto topped with the remaining roasted tomatoes, garlic and basil, a sprinkling of toasted breadcrumbs and a few extra basil leaves. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and good crack of black pepper.