Italian Style Rice
Aug 07, 2019
Ah Italy. The wine. The bread. The rice? This rice dish has all the right ingredients to make you want to jump on a plane to Rome! It is full of vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron and potassium. This is a great dish to make once and use in a variety of different ways over the week. It also freezes well. Reheat with a little water in a pan over low heat. It can be served at room temperature or hot. This recipe makes 10 servings, so if you are only cooking for 1 or 2, adjust quantities down.
Ingredients
2 cups long grain brown rice
1 small onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
Handful fresh green beans
2 sprigs thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
Generous handful fresh or frozen peas
1 tin whole tomatoes
Handful pine nuts
Dice onion, carrot and slice celery. Saute in a little olive oil in pan with cover. Snip ends of green beans and cut into small pieces; add to pan. Add thyme and italian seasoning. Saute until wilted. Meanwhile rinse rice well. Add rice to pan and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add tinned tomatoes. Add juice, then using hand smoosh each tomato into the pan. Stir well. Cover with a tight lid. Turn heat to medium-high. Rice should be boiling slightly. Do not remove the lid during this time. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove lid, stir well. Add frozen peas and pine nuts. Incorporate well. Wrap lid in towel and turn heat to low. Cook for another 10 minutes. Liquid should be gone. If there is still liquid turn heat up a bit and watch carefully.
Serving Suggestions
Serve as a side dish alongside a steamed artichoke and grilled vegetable skewers Stuff a red or yellow bell pepper
Stuff a zucchini squash/courgette (add the innards of the squash to the rice) Use as the base of a bowl
Turn it into Mexican by adding a little salsa and serve with tortillas
Serve on top of salad greens with olives, cucumber, red bell pepper and avocado; dress with a vegan chipotle ranch
Options
Add capers
Substitute chickpeas/garbanzo beans or red kidney beans
Add a jalapeno for a little spice
Nutritional Analysis
