Tag: rice

Tomato, coconut and cashew pilau

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Enormously comforting and fragrant with coconut and warm spices. An excellent side dish with grilled spicy chicken. Feeds 2.

  • 180g basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 6 fresh curry leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 onion, finely sliced into half moons
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 green birdseye chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • 50g unsalted cashews
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 200ml tin of coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  1. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 15 mins
  2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat
  3. Add the curry leaves and cinnamon stick
  4. Stir and cook for 1 min, then add the onion and lower the heat
  5. Cook for 10 to 12 mins until it’s golden brown and soft
  6. Add the garlic, chilli and cashews, and cook for a couple of mins
  7. Add the tomatoes and pop the lid on
  8. Cook for about 8 mins until the tomatoes are soft.
  9. Drain the rice, add it to the pan and stir in
  10. Add the coconut milk, salt and 110ml boiling  water
  11. Stir again, turn the heat up and put the lid on
  12. Bring the mixture to the boil, turn down to a low simmer and cook for a 10 mins

Top tip – use the leftover coconut milk from the tin to make a delicious coconut chai spiced loaf.

Jambalaya

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Savoury, highly-flavoured and tasty. A long list of ingredients, but super-simple to cook. Really just occasional stirring, adding stuff and a bit of waiting. Feeds 4.

  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 125g chicken breast, cut into chunks
  • 125g smoked sausage/kabanos, sliced
  • 125g smoked ham, cubed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pieces celery, chopped
  • 1 large green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • ½ tsp hot smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 220g long-grain white rice
  • Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  1. Heat the oil in large lidded pan
  2. Add onion, garlic, peppers, chilli and celery and cook for around 8 mins until softened and translucent
  3. Add tomato puree, stir in and cook for a minute
  4. Deglaze the pan with the stock and stir until all combined thoroughly
  5. Add the seasoning, tinned tomatoes, sugar and salt
  6. Bring to the boil then stick the lid on and cook over a low heat for 10 mins
  7. Add the rice, sausage and ham, combining thoroughly
  8. Place the chicken pieces on top and push them just under the surface of the liquid
  9. Put the lid back on and cook on low for 20 mins
  10. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the parsley and tuck in! Maybe serve with some sauteed spinach or chard

Green risotto

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Beautifully green. Creamy and fresh, this makes a gorgeous spring supper. Feeds 2 with leftovers. Makes marvellous arancini if you don’t scoff it all in one go.

  • 100g frozen peas
  • 100g spinach
  • Small handful fresh mint leaves – around 10
  • 3 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream (use the leftovers to make these cookies!)
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 spring onions, chopped
  • 150g risotto rice
  • 75ml white wine
  • Salt and pepper
  • 50g parmesan, finely grated
  1. Put the peas into a bowl and the spinach and mint in a sieve on top. Pour through the sieve into the peas and leave the peas in the hot water for a couple of mins to defrost
  2. Drain the peas and put them, the spinach and the mint into a mini food processor. Whizz them up with the creme fraiche into a thick green paste
  3. In a saucepan, heat the stock to a simmer
  4. In another pan on a medium heat, pour in the oil and then cook the spring onions for a minute or so until soft
  5. Stir in the rice and cook for a moment until the rice crackles and the edges go translucent
  6. Season well then pour in the wine and stir until absorbed
  7. Add a ladleful of stock and stir in until the liquid disappears – keep adding stock and don’t stop stirring!
  8. The rice will take about 20 mins to cook – it should be soft with a tiny bite and the texture should be marvellously creamy and not at all chalky
  9. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parmesan and green paste
  10. Check the seasoning and serve steaming with a fresh drift of parmesan on top

Stuffed red peppers

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A happy midweek dinner or Sunday supper. Feeds 2 with leftovers for lunch the next day. If you’d like to make it vegetarian, just leave out the lamb and maybe add a handful of black olives.

  • 2 red peppers, halved lengthwise through the stem and seeds removed
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
  • 4 tbsp tomato passata
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 packet cooked long grain rice
  • 300g lamb mince
  • 200g feta, crumbled
  • Handful parsley, chopped
  • Handful pine nuts, toasted
  • Small handful mint, chopped
  • Large pinch chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Put the pepper halves cut side up in a baking dish that they fit into snugly. Bake for 15 mins
  3. In a small pan, heat the oil and cook the onions and garlic until soft and caramelised
  4. Turn heat up to high and add the lamb mince, stirring and cooking until browned
  5. In a large bowl, mix together the cooked rice, cherry tomatoes, passata, herbs and spices, cheese and nuts
  6. Mix in the cooked lamb, onion and garlic. Season well
  7. Fill the peppers with this mixture, piling it up high. Drizzle with oil and bake for further 20 mins

Serve with a spoonful of plain yogurt on top, a crunchy salad and a large glass of wine

Jewelled rice

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Beautiful steaming rice, studded with deep pink and green. A gorgeous combination of textures and flavours, and a great accompaniment to spiced chicken shawarma or aubergine.

  • 100g whole blanched almonds
  • Bunch of spring onions, trimmed and left whole
  • 300g basmati rice
  • Cinnamon stick
  • Salt
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • 100g pomegranate seeds
  • 2 preserved lemons, skins chopped finely
  • Bunch parsley, finely chopped
  • Small bunch mint, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds, toasted until they start to pop
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Roast almonds in a dry pan until golden, or spread on a baking tray and roast in the oven at 180C fan for 7 mins at 200C. Then roughly chop them
  2. In a hot pan, griddle the spring onions briefly and then slice into 1cm pieces
  3. Rinse the rice and boil a pan of salted water
  4. Tip the damp rice into the boiling water, add the cinnamon stick, stir and cook for 10 mins
  5. Drain and combine with rest of ingredients except pomegranate seeds. Check the seasoning
  6. Spoon out onto a platter and sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over. Serve straight away

Butternut squash risotto

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Lip-smackingly good. Simple to make but gifts you half an hour when you can’t do anything but stir, patiently and calmly. That’s got to be good for your soul, and so is eating it. Feeds 4.

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 tsp dried oregano (or ½ tsp dried sage)
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 120g smoked pancetta or bacon, cut into little cubes
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 280g risotto rice
  • 250ml white wine
  • 800ml chicken stock
  • 30g parmesan, grated
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • Salt and black pepper
  1. Heat the oven to 180C fan (200 C)
  2. Peel and de-seed the squash, cutting the flesh into small cubes (keep them bite-sized, around 2cm)
  3. Tip the squash onto a large baking tray in a single layer. Add the oil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands to coat the squash
  4. Roast for 30-40 mins until soft and brown round the edges
  5. When there’s about 20 mins to go on the squash, start the risotto
  6. Heat the chicken stock in a pan next to where you’re going to cook the risotto. Just a simmer is fine. If it boils, turn it down or off
  7. In a large, heavy-handed saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat and then fry the pancetta cubes until they’re golden
  8. Add the onion and garlic and turn the heat down. Cook until soft, around 5-8 mins
  9. Turn the heat up to medium-high and pour in the rice
  10. Turn it over in the buttery, bacony onions for a minute. You’ll see the edges of the rice go clear and you’ll hear it crackle
  11. Pour in the wine and stir in. It will disappear almost immediately
  12. Add a ladleful of chicken stock and stir in. Keep stirring constantly, moving the rice around and getting all the way into the corners. As the stock disappears into the rice – so you can draw the spoon across the bottom of the pan and it leaves a clear line for a moment – add more stock a ladle at a time
  13. Keep the heat medium-high, and keep stirring and adding stock until the rice is cooked. If you run out of stock, just use water from a freshly boiled kettle. It will take roughly 20 mins. Don’t stop stirring!
  14. Turn off the heat. Stir in the roast butternut squash, parmesan, lemon and a bunch of black pepper. Stick the lid on and leave alone for 5 mins. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed. The stock, bacon and cheese can be quite salty so you may not need it. The texture of the cooked rice should be firm and a bit chewy, but not chalky. The sauce should be rich, coating the grains. And the risotto should be loose enough to spread into the bowl. It shouldn’t sit there in a stodgy lump, but spread out oozily. If its too thick, add a bit of boiled water and stir in
  15. Serve immediately, with a waft of chopped parsley on top if you like.

If you want to make the dish vegetarian, just leave out the bacon and add some toasted pine nuts at the end.

Rice and peas

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

The traditional accompaniment to jerk chicken, but also gorgeous on its own with some sauteed spinach and a drizzle of extra-hot chilli sauce.

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp veg oil
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 1 tin gungo peas, drained and rinsed (or kidney beans – but if you hate kidney beans as much as I do and you can’t find gungo peas, try borlotti beans instead)
  • 3 spring onions, chopped
  • ½ tsp dry thyme
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • 1 scotch bonnet chilli, whole but pierced with a fork a couple of times (you can leave this out if you prefer)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100ml water
  • 200g long grain rice (not the quick cook stuff)
  1. In a saucepan with a lid, heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic over a low heat for 5 mins
  2. Add the spring onion, coconut milk, gungo peas, thyme, allspice, chilli, salt and water. Bring to the boil
  3. Add the rice, stir in and put the lid on. Turn to a low simmer and cook for 15 mins
  4. After 15 mins, check the seasoning. If the rice still has a tiny bit of crunch to it, add a couple of tbsp boiling water and cook for another 3 mins.

Fragrant pilaf

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

The most soothing of rice dishes. Aromatic with mild spice but no heat, buttery and delicious

  • 150g basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 1 onion, sliced finely into half moons
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ chicken stock cube
  • Handful of flaked almonds, toasted
  1. Heat the butter in a pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook the onion over a low heat for 5-10 mins until completely soft, tender and golden
  2. Add the cinnamon, bay and cardamom and stir in for a minute until fragrant
  3. Add the crumbled stock cube and stir into the butter so it completely dissolves
  4. Turn the heat up, tip in the rice and stir it into the spiced buttery onions until it starts to crackle
  5. Add 300ml boiling water, stir well, stick the lid on and turn it down as low as possible
  6. Cook for 10 mins then turn the heat off and leave for a further 5 mins without taking the lid off
  7. Serve sprinkled with toasted flaked almonds

If you want a simple bowlful of comforting loveliness, you can just eat this on its own with a spoonful of yogurt on the top. Or it makes a great side dish to something spicy and saucy. Or feel free to make it more substantial by stirring through chickpeas, scraps of cooked chicken or lamb, chargrilled aubergine or courgette.

Ham jambalaya

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Quite a long list of ingredients, but quick and simple to make. Warming, highly-flavoured, tasty.

  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 125g chicken mini fillets
  • 125g smoked sausage/kabanos, sliced
  • 125g smoked ham, cubed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pieces celery, chopped
  • 1 large green chilli
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tin tomatoes
  • 300ml chicken stock
  • ½ tsp hot smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 200g long-grain white rice
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  1. Heat veg oil in deep lidded frying pan
  2. Add onion, garlic, peppers, chilli and celery and cook until translucent and soft
  3. Add tomato puree, stir in and cook for a minute
  4. Pour in the stock and stir until all combined thoroughly, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan
  5. Add the seasoning, tinned tomatoes, sugar and salt. Put lid on and cook over low-medium heat for 10 mins.
  6. Add the rice, ham and sausage, combining thoroughly
  7. Place chicken fillets on top and push them just under the surface of the liquid
  8. Put the lid on and cook for 20 mins
  9. Once it’s all cooked, slice up chicken, spinkle in chopped parsley and stir together

Serve with garlic sauteed spinach

Chicken and chorizo paella

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Will fill your kitchen with the most mouthwatering aromas while it cooks, and your mouth with dancing, contrasting flavours when you eat it. Feeds a hungry 2

  • 2 chicken thigh fillets, cut into small pieces
  • 1 chorizo sausage, cut into small pieces
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 tbsp garlic oil
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • Pinch of saffron
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • Handful of frozen peas
  • Handful of chopped fresh parsley
  • 150g paella rice
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • Lemon
  1. Heat the garlic oil in a deep frying pan and fry the chorizo until it starts to release its oil
  2. Add the chicken and brown in the russet-red oil
  3. Remove the meat from the pan and add the onion and red pepper
  4. Cook until softened then add the rice to the pan and stir it into the oil and veg
  5. Turn the heat up, add stock and spices
  6. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins
  7. Stir the meat through the rice and cook for a further 10 mins
  8. Turn the heat off, add the peas, parsley and a squeeze of lemon
  9. Cover the pan and leave to rest for a final 5 mins. Serve immediately