Post Furlough/Student Food: Widow's Rice

 Now that the case number for COVID seems to be sky high everywhere we are using up the rice and pasta that we have slowly stocked up on all year to avoid going shopping as much as possible..  This is a vegan rice dish that I would normally make in the summer with veggies from the garden where possible and homemade stock, then it is super cheap; however this time of year you can use frozen veggies to get a similar result.   

You will need a large frying pan or paella pan, it doesn't need a lid.

Widow's Rice (serves 4)

Vegetable oil

Half an onion

tin of chopped tomatoes

1/2 a red pepper cut into strips (or frozen pre chopped mixed peppers is fine)

1/2 a courgette cut into rounds as thick as a pound coin

100-150g broccoli florets sliced in half through the stem if fresh

100g green beans topped and tailed and cut in half lengthways

100g peas

200g rice - paella rice is good but any rice will do!

1 vegetable stock cube or chicken stock cube

Fry the onion in the vegetable oil until it is translucent.  Add the other veggies and fry for about 5 minutes to start to soften (they will not be cooked at this point!)  Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil.

Add the tin of tomatoes and use the tin to measure out two tins of water.  Add the stock cube. and stir to dissolve then turn down the heat and leave it alone.  The key to this dish is not to stir the rice as it cooks, we don't want a risotto!  Give the pan a gentle shake from time to time and you should be able to tell when the water is nearly all gone - do not add more we want all the water to be absorbed.  At this point taste the rice - depending on the type you use you may need to add more water (the rice will still be crunchy) only add half an tin at a time and then test again when that has all gone.

Serve.

Variations:

The veggies that you use can be changed according to what you have; try sweetcorn either from a tin or baby corn like you would use for a stir fry, cauliflower rather than broccoli, runner beans rather than green beans etc etc etc a real "bottom of the fridge" dish in terms of what veggies you can add.

Sliced mushrooms add protein.

Use fresh tomatoes rather than tinned

Use saffron (if you have it!) - this dish has Spanish origins so totally allowed

Add sliced garlic if you are a fan

The cost of this one is difficult since it varies so much by season and if you grow your own.  Where you buy your rice is also a big factor. If you can get 10 kg bags (Morrisons do them in the ethnic section in my local store) this is much cheaper than buying it by the kilo, if you're lucky then a local asian grocers may have these.  However wherever you are forced to shop now that we shouldn't travel it doesn't have meat so it will always be cheap!  Definitely under a pound a person all year round.

Stay Safe

Stay safe.