Dirty rice

 

I came across this dirty rice recipe by accident when I was scouring Pinterest for easy meals to make that could last in the fridge longer than a day or two and were filling. The name is what caught my attention – I had never heard of dirty rice before. I had everything on hand to make it, except for the turkey mince so I substituted that with quorn and have used that ever since!

This is such a quick, healthy and filling meal – the kids love it, and it’s super versatile – you could add in more veggies if you’d like to or use chicken or fish or just leave it meatless.

Serves 4 (and you’ll have leftovers!)

You will need:

1.25 cups of brown rice

500 grams of quorn mince (or whatever other meat you’re using)

1 red onion chopped finely

Half a red bell pepper and half a yellow or orange bell pepper chopped (you could just use one bell pepper but that’s boring)

A handful of chopped spring onions

1 tbsp of chopped garlic or garlic paste

1 tbsp of paprika powder

1 tsp of cumin powder

1 lemon – juiced

Coriander

Salt

Method:

Measure out your brown rice with 2.5 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a medium pot. Bring the pot to a boil and once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer (without opening) for 40 minutes, making sure the water hasn’t all evaporated.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil in a large pan (I like using a wok for this) over medium heat. Toss in your red onion, garlic and spring onions and cook until softened. Add your quorn or whatever other meat you’re using, along with the paprika and cumin and cook that for about 10 minutes until browned, breaking up any large chunks as you go. I like to keep a bag of frozen quorn handy for when I make this – it means it takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish to throw it all together.

Add in your diced bell peppers and a large handful of chopped coriander (we love our coriander in this house!) and any other vegetables you’d like to use. Squeeze in the lemon juice, season and add any other spices you’d like – thyme, cayenne powder and chilli powder work great here too but because we’re eating with young children, I tend not to go overboard with the heat.

Once you’re happy with the seasoning, turn the heat off and serve this hot. It keeps great in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container. I love to drizzle tamarind sauce or pomegranate molasses over mine – it really complements the flavours.

Try it and let me know how you get on!

Recipe adapted from: http://runawayapricot.com/2014/01/mealprep-expert-tips-for-easy-healthy-and-affordable-meals-all-week-long.html/#sthash.lW3RLU7i.dpuf