baked brown basmati with red pepper & cherry tomatoes
I thought I would try baking brown rice instead of white and turns out it’s pretty much the same, but takes a little longer in the oven. This is a really good way to do a hands off rice dish that can be your main course with the addition of baked feta, halloumi, crispy chickpeas or toasted hazelnuts, or you could also have it as a side with roast chicken or grilled fish.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, half moon slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
500ml boiling water, ½ veggie stock cube
1 tsp sea salt
200g brown basmati rice
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºc.
Put the cherry tomatoes and red peppers in the medium oven proof dish that you’re going to use for the rice and mix in 1 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Put in the oven for 20 minutes, until cooked and starting to brown.
While the tomatoes and peppers are cooking, get a small frying pan add a little olive oil and fry the onions gently for around 15 minutes until browned.
Boil 500ml of water, mix with the ½ stock cube and 1tsp sea salt in a jug.
When the tomatoes and peppers are ready, squeeze out the garlic and mash. Distribute it as evenly as possible over the vegetables. Do the same with the cooked onions, don’t mix them in.
Next scatter the rice evenly over the top of the vegetables (no mixing), drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil evenly over the top and then pour over the hot stock.
Put tinfoil over the top of the dish as tightly as possible, you may need to double layer. This is easier if you have a dish with a lip around the top edge. Put in the oven for 45 minutes, until the rice is soft and all the water as absorbed.
Serve with a scattering of parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.