Ingredients and Equipment

Equipment
Sharp Cutting Knife
Vegetable Peeler
Cutting Board
Grater
Spatula
One Large Pan
Measuring Jug
Scales
Seive/Strainer

Ingredients
1 Large Carrot
1 Medium or Large Onion (I prefer red for the colour)
225g Long Grain White Rice
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
100ml White Wine
700ml hot water

Optional ingredients (recommended if being prepared as a main dish)
400g tin Kidney Beans
100g (frozen weight) Sweetcorn
1/2 Bell Pepper
50g Red Lentils (Dry)

Seasoning
1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tbsp Paprika or 1tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1-2 Generous Pinch of Ground Cayenne Pepper (more if you like it spicier)*
Black Pepper
Salt Grinder or Flakey Salt

*If you are using fresh diced chilli you will need to leave out the Cayenne

Method

Stock and Vegetable Prep

Peel your carrot and top and tail before grating it and adding it to your pan. Then, dice your onion and add it also.

If you are using bell pepper and/or fresh chillis dice those and add them to the pan at this stage.

Combine the stock cubes, tomato puree, and all of the spices from the seasonings list into a measuring jug with 700ml of Hot water to be added creating your spiced stock. Whisk thoroughly

Wash your rice under cold water in a sieve or strainer until the water runs almost clear. Repeat for your lentils if you are adding those too. Do not mix these together. They are added to the dish at different times.

Open the tin of tomatoes and the tin of Kidney Beans. Drain the Kidney Beans before adding them to the dish.

Cooking

Fry your vegetables in the pan on a medium-high heat until they have softened and browned a little. The browning will add a lot of flavour to the dish. season as you go with salt and pepper here.

Add your white wine and rice lowering the heat. Cook until almost all of the moisture has cooked off

Add your tin of chopped tomatoes and kidney beans and simmer for a minute or so before adding your stock and stiring thoroughly

Simmer for 10 minutes. The mixture should be lightly bubbling, any higher heat and the rice will not cook thoroughly. Stir the mix every few minutes to help ensure even cooking

If you are adding lentils and sweetcorn these can be added after the first ten minutes of simmering

Simmer, stiring regularly, until most of the liquid has cooked off.

The base recipe is beautifully simple and I often use it as a side to Chilli Con Carne or as a filling in Burritos. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!