Rainbow vegetable rice

Rice isn’t my go-to carb, that’s potatoes, so I’m always looking for ways to make it more exciting, and this is a great one that’s popular with everyone and a huge bowl will keep everyone around the table happy and well-fed.

I use Jasmine rice as it has a nice flavour-vibe of its own. Adding onions, peppers and peas, and a stirring a bit of garlic butter through to finish, creates a delicious vegetable-jewelled dish.

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

a few tablespoonfuls of olive oil
2 large Spanish onions, peeled and finely diced (or use frozen chopped, about 2 heaped teacupfuls – teacupsful??)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or use frozen)
2-3 different coloured peppers, deseeded and diced
2 teacupfuls of frozen peas
300g of jasmine rice
600ml of boiling water
sea salt
2 heaped teaspoons of garlic butter or use normal butter
any fresh chopped herbs to serve

Instructions

In a large wide pan with a big surface area fry the onion and garlic in all the olive oil until translucent but not browned. Then add the peppers and cook for 3-4 mins.

Throw in the rice and stir to coat, then add the boiling water and plenty of sea salt to season.

Cook until all the water is absorbed, stirring every now and then to unstick any rice from the pan.

A few mins before it’s done add the peas and stir, they need to retain their lovely green colour and not squidge-off too much.

Stir the butter through then serve in a large bowl scattered with chopped fresh herbs.

Portion Guidelines

Instead of living with the bore of weighing food, counting points or calories and tapping everything you eat into a phone you can use nature’s custom-designed tool – your hands!

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Nutrition Info

Peppers

Peppers have a wide diversity of nutrients and are generally quite overlooked in favour of more trendy veg such as avocados and kale.

They are a rich source of vitamin C. One pepper has more vitamin C than an orange! C is traditionally thought of as a vitamin that wards off colds but it does much more than that. It helps us to absorb iron, supports health skin and tissue, plays a part in a healthy nervous system, helps to produce energy and yes, supports immunity. They have excellent amounts vitamin A for eye health and anti-inflammation as well as vitamin B6 for brain and nerve health and efficient metabolism.

They also contain a number of other B vitamins, including B1, B2, vitamin B3, folate, and pantothenic acid, as well as vitamin E (fights free radical damage that can harm cells), K, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, molybdenum, and fibre. An extraordinary range of goodness.

A simple act of kindness the size of a rice grain can weigh as heavy as a mountain.

Feroz Bham