Vegetarian Eggs & Rice

For those of you who may have overindulged a little during the festive season and happen to be looking for more health conscious meal ideas, then this one is for you... A hugely satisfying, family friendly rice dish for anyone who wants to give it a go! It was inspired by my friend's Romanian potato salad; I thought I'd give it a try with rice. This recipe with definitely feed a family of 4-5.

If you're taking part in the whole 'Veganuary' movement then just substitute the eggs with some black eyed peas, which is how I prefer this recipe, to be honest. I just didn't have any in the cupboard but would absolutely recommend using beans as an alternative to egg.

You will need:

• 2-3 cups of easy-cook Basmati rice (regular rice will work just fine), cooked according to instructions
• 1 Large white onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 20 black pitted olives, sliced
• 2 Handfuls of mixed green leaves (I've used coriander, spinach and rocket), roughly chopped
• 1 Cup of steamed sweetcorn
• 1 Tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar
• 1 Level teaspoon of salt
• Half a teaspoon corsely ground black pepper
• 3 Medium sized, free-range, organic eggs, boiled and then sliced

How To:

1. To make life easier, have your eggs boiled (peeled and sliced) and rice already made and sitting aside (in separate bowls) all ready for the rest of the ingredients to be added.

2. In a separate bowl add your onions, olives, green leaves, black pepper and salt. Evenly drizzle the vinegar on top and give the ingredients a stir.

3. Add in the rice and stir, taking care to get an even mixture. You can now gently fold in the sliced eggs.

*Adding some freshly diced tomatoes would also be splendid with this dish.

Flavourful Basmati Rice

As promised in my last post, here is the recipe for my perfectly aromatic basmati rice. The perfect complement  to my 'Minty Minced Lamb' dish.

For the rice, you will need:

• 2 cups of white basmati rice
• 5 cardamom pods, cracked to release flavour
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/2 a teaspoon of cracked black peppercorns
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• Hot water, boiled

Instructions:

1.  Fill you kettle and put it on to boil.

2.  While your kettle is boiling, wash your rice (in the pot you are going to cook it in) underneath a running tap (for best results I use the hot tap, much faster) until the water runs clear. Apparently, this removes some of the excess starch in the rice. I have personally found that by rinsing rice before cooking, it gives the grains that fluffy, loose and less clumped together texture. It can also be better for digestion (or at least it does in my case).

3.  Place your pot on the hob and add your cardamom pods, whole cloves, cracked black peppercorns and salt into the pot with your rice. Stir.

4.  Turn on the hob and pour in enough hot water from the kettle to cover the rice (about an inch above rice level). Stir again and once the water comes to a boil, cover your pot with a lid and turn the heat down low and simmer until the water has been absorbed and the rice has cooked. This should take around 10 minutes.

If you missed my last post, you can find the link to the perfect accompaniment to this rice dish, here.