Risotto siah – Iranian black risotto

Begin with the powders. Peel the tomatoes by making a small cross in the base then blanching them for 30 seconds in boiling water. Plunge into iced water to cool immediately, then peel. Quarter the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds leaving you with just the tomato flesh

Place the tomatoes in a dehydrator along with the black garlic clove and black lime for around 5 hours. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can dry them out in an oven set to 120ºC/gas mark ½ for a similar amount of time. Once completely dried out and crisp, separately blitz the tomato and black lime in a spice grinder or blender into powders. The black garlic can be grated into a powder when serving. Set all 3 aside

Place a saucepan over a medium heat and, once hot, add the oil followed by the rice. Stir to coat the rice with oil then add a ladle of the warm tomato water or stock. Stir until the rice has absorbed the stock, then add a ladle and repeat this process until the rice is cooked to your liking (you may not need all the stock)

At this point, take the risotto off the heat and stir in the black tahini. Taste and season with salt

Plate the warm risotto and grate over some black garlic. Finish with a dusting of tomato powder and black lime powder