I’m always trying to think of different side dishes to serve with the main meals but I’m usually limited to what I have on hand. I don’t want to go out and buy something in particular that will compliment the meal but rather use what might be nearing it’s use by date. In this case I had a glut of tomatoes that the skin was starting to shrivel on so I came up with this easy One Pot Savoury Rice. It’s going to be a standard on our menu because it was delicious and easy and I’ve nearly always got the ingredients on hand.

I never used to like tomatoes as a child but I love them now and usually go through at least a kilo a week, even if it’s using them on bread or in a salad, winter or summer. When the skin starts to shrivel, they are always bound for a pot of pasta sauce or similar.

Start by chopping the tomatoes roughly. Doesn’t matter what they look like. They will be cooked down anyway.

Fry a chopped onion in a little olive oil.

Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer gently until they become part of the sauce. Add 1 cup of chicken (or whatever) stock, garlic, salt and pepper.

This is where the easy part comes in. Whenever I cook rice for a meal, I usually triple or quadruple the amount I cook. It allows me to have ready made, cooked rice on hand. I pop a 4 person serving of cooked rice in a ziplock bag and freeze. It just cuts out so much time when preparing a meal. It’s great for stir fries on a busy week night. I just need to chop all the meat and vegetables and pop the rice in a bowl and cover with hot water from the kettle. It will defrost within minutes and if needed, you can heat for an extra minute in the microwave. I don’t usually bother because the heat from the stir fry will usually heat up the rice enough.

This is so, so lazy, but it works. I just popped the frozen ‘slab’ of rice straight into the pot. Within minutes it was defrosted and it really only needs heating up because the rice is cooked. 

What you do want to happen is for the liquid from the tomato and onion mixture to be soaked into the rice, which does happen in a few more minutes. While this is happening, you can prepare a quick salad and grill your meat.

I certainly won’t win any awards for traditional cooking methods but this comes out very similar to risotto in texture, it’s fresh tasting and compliments any meal.

On this particular night, I had marinated chicken breasts which were flash fried and served with dressed lettuce leaves. I swear it took all of 15 minutes to cook the whole meal. So, so easy. I’m all about cooking easy lately and always trying to prep a lot of the ingredients to avoid takeaway but also to still not waste any ingredients in my pantry or fridge while still serving tasty meals. I’ve been run off my feet with my new job, I’m exhausted at the end of the day but sitting down to meals like this are always satisfying. Hope you give it a try. You could flavour it with any other spices to compliment the meal you’re having for example Mexican spices with burritos or enchiladas.

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Easy One Pot Savoury Rice

A very easy, one pot savoury rice, similar to risotto, that is made from tomatoes that are starting to turn and precooked rice.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 3-4 to matoes chopped
• 1-2 cups cooked rice
• 1 medium onion chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup stock I used chicken
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Chop tomatoes and onion.
2. Fry onion in a little olive oil.
3. Add chopped tomatoes.
4. Simmer gently until tomatoes have dissolved.
5. Add stock, garlic and salt and pepper.
6. Add cooked rice (mine was frozen and I popped it in still frozen).
7. Cook until liquid has been absorbed by the rice (approx 10 minutes).
8. Serve with grilled meat and salad.

Recipe Notes

Add different seasonings, herbs and spices to compliment the meal, eg add cumin, dried coriander and chilli powder for a Mexican version.