… there was a moment over the last week, stuck in hospital with the feeling of a wrongly convicted felon, that I seriously considered never eating again… my stomach was in indescribable pain, I had no appetite and the very thought of food made me sick to the teeth… and hospitals kind of smell like school canteens for most of the day, which really didn’t help… I think I ate one meal over the seven days during my incarceration – it was a strange, grey version of fish and chips I hadn’t seen since I was seven… to be fair there was nothing wrong with it. I simply didn’t want to eat it. I didn’t want to be in hospital and I didn’t want to be sick… luckily The Viking, like a knight in shining armour, came and rescued me yesterday and brought me home… I need a little rest and recuperation but I can already feel my body is on the mend…
… I consider myself to be quite a healthy eater… a hearty eater yes but it’s all good, fresh ingredients that I cook myself. Very little is processed or packaged and whilst I may appear to eat cake every other day this is simply for the purposes of the blog… very little is actually consumed by me. Having said all that, clearly there was something wrong and it’s something I’m planning to fix. I don’t fully yet have my appetite back, my stomach doesn’t seem to have the stomach for it but i’m following the rules of my doctors and dietitian and with a few days of liquid only just past, followed by a couple of days of ‘soft’ food, i’ll soon be introducing roughage and fibre back into my meals. It’s an exciting time in belleau kitchen… to actually have a plan of action food-wise… and I hope you’ll come on the journey with me…
oven-baked, tomato soup risotto
so the ‘soft’ food part of the diet is just to introduce food back into the system… ‘bowels, meet oven-baked risotto’… anything that looks like baby-food once it’s cooked constitutes as soft food, so mashed potato, steamed fish, pasta, dairy products… all fine for the next couple of days… doesn’t mean it has to be completely tasteless though and so when the lovely Jane from Onions and Paper suggested an oven-baked risotto I just knew it was the right thing to do… I can bung it in the oven and let it do it’s magic without having to stress over the stove… perfect… although didn’t exactly know what my partner ingredient would be until I had a little flash of inspiration whilst supping a bowl of my favourite tomato soup for lunch… it’s probably not an original idea but it has comfort food written all over it and it tastes beyond incredible… plus, how could I not be cheered up by this bowl of orange fabulousness!
1 medium onion – very finely chopped
500g risotto rice
1 glass white wine
1 pint veg stock
1 tin of Heinz tomato soup
100g grated parmesan or vegetarian alternative
a little extra virgin olive oil
using a little oil in a large pan (that has a lid) gently sweat the onions until very soft, then throw in the rice and stir together. Next pour in the wine and let it bubble for at least 5 minutes so that the alcohol burns off
pour in the stock and the tomato soup, place the lid on and pop it in an oven on 150C for 25 mins until the moisture is soaked up and the rice is perfectly el dente.
stir in the cheese, sprinkle with some fresh oregano and serve
eat and of course, enjoy!
That looks like the ultimate comfort food! Hope it is healing too.
I am so pleased to hear you are home and on the mend. I am a risotto addict so this ticks all the boxes for me. Feel better soon! Debs
Glad to see you're home dearie! Comfort food is a good thing right now … just steer clear of the seed in the tomatoes for a good bit … don't think they're good for the divertick ….
How typical of you that you should turn such an unpleasant experience into an “opportunity”! An opportunity to explain to your readers about the impportance of diet in their wellbeing and health. I'll be following you on the journey…
I will be making this, it sounds so delicious. Looking forward to hearing about your recovery journey.
Glad you're on the mend – sounds nasty – and whilst I abhor Heinz tomato soup with a passion, I seem to be in the minority and my other half assures me it is perfect poorly food! And even as a tomato soup hater, it does look tasty 🙂
Glad you're in the recovery phase. This comforting risotto should help with that.
This looks wonderful, Dom, like it could cure anything! I'm looking forward to the healthy dishes to come!
You really had a bad go of it. I am so happy you are feeling better and starting to eat soft food. This risotto looks delicious. I grew up with canned tomato soup for lunch. It was always one of my favorite canned soups. Get better soon Dom!
So glad that you're slowly starting to 'enjoy' food again; albeit in mushy form! The risotto looks lovely… anything with tomato and cheese is a winner in my opinon! Take care. I'm looking forward to seeing what amazing restorative foods you come up with (I might share some of these recipes with my patients!)
Hope you are on the mend – so glad you managed to get that glass of wine in there. Great stuff!
If you're able to write about food, you're definitely on the mend! I must tell you a story about Heinz tomato soup: a few years ago my parents were in a pub in Ipswich (I'll spare you the long story of why) and my mum asked the waitress what the 'soup of the day' was. The waitress went off to the kitchen to find out and came back with two tins – one of Heinz Tomato, the other of Heinz Vegetable!
Don't wear yourself out, let the Viking pamper you for a bit x
This looks like the perfect way to start you back on the road to recovery, Dom!!!
This is a lovely idea. And I have no aversion to a can of soup. I like also that you served it in a bowel (oops, I mean bowl).
I am so sorry to laugh at your expense, Dom, but your stomach not having the stomach made me do just that. I completely agree about tomato soup being one of the ultimate comfort foods (usually accompanied by toast rigorously slathered and dripping with butter) but one of my childhood “when you feel poorly” dishes was simply a bowl of buttered rice. Your lovely risotto combines these beautifully. I am glad to hear that you are on the mend.
I am so sorry to read this Dom, as I have told you, my dad and sister suffer from this condition and I know how bad the pain can be……you WILL be able to control it with diet and in the meantime, this risotto looks the absolute business! Get well soon darlink, Karen xxx
Glad to hear that you're back home. You need to do some serious looking after yourself and, of course, you can count on plenty of support from us, your loyal followers. That's a true piece of comfort food and it would do me just fine right now. But I must say that this recipe makes me very nostalgic for the 80s. There was a time when almost every recipe that I read seemed to involve opening a can of one sort of soup or other. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does make me want to find my Kate Bush 12 inch singles.
Nice to hear that you're home and on the mend.
What a great idea for a meal – I love Heinz tomato soup! 🙂
I love the use of a can of soup here. Heinz tomato soup is the quintessential get well soon food so I can only imagine how well this risotto hit the spot! Get well soon Dom x
Looks lush! Hope you're fully recovered soon Dom x