Sticky Tomato Rice

Stick Tomato Rice

I made a version of this using cauliflower a few months ago and now I’m making it with roast aubergine and courgettes to go on the side. When I did a poll last week on Instagram, my followers wanted to traybake and this was a total winner. It is also a great healthy meal for kids, tried and tested!

Vegetarian/Vegan

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp olive oil

• 300g basmati rice

• 1 tsp of dried oregano

• 2 tsp ground paprika

• 1/2 level tsp of cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp salt

• 4 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tsp of garlic powder

• 600ml of vegetable stock

• 3 tbsp thyme leaves / 1 tsp dried thyme

• 150g cherry tomatoes halved

• 3 spring onions

• 2 red peppers, thinly sliced

• 70 ml white wine

• 40g butter (or vegan butter), diced

• Pepper

For the roast veg:

• 1 medium aubergine

• 2-3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 200c degrees and add the aubergine and courgette to a baking tray. Season with oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Roast for 20/25 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Then grease a 25cm by 33cm baking tray with a spoon of oil. Soak rice in the cold water for 1 min and drain. Pour rice into a tray and layout evenly.

In a saucepan, add the oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt, purée, garlic powder and stock. Bring to a boil and then pour over the rice.

In a large bowl, add the thyme, tomatoes, 2 of the spring onions and sliced pepper. Add 3 spoons of olive oil and season with salt and peppers. Toss everything together and lay on top of the rice evenly spread out. Pour over the wine and cover with tin foil or a lid. Place into the oven for 20 minutes and then remove the foil. Roast for another 20 minutes and then drizzle over the last of the oil, butter and a last seasoning. Bake for another 5 mins until the top is roasted. Serve with a lemony green salad, roast veg and leftover spring onion on top of the rice.