Roasted garlic, pepper and tomato rice

Revisiting a recipe originally from June 2016 to add to my list of vegan ideas…

June 2016: I haven’t done anything vegetarian for a while. I love any rice dish, and this one is really simple to make. The rice is soft and subtle, a perfect backdrop for the charred pepper, sweet roasted garlic and the pop of the cherry tomatoes.

What to use

• A head of garlic
• Half a large red pepper
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• Handful of finely chopped shallots
• Olive oil
• 150ml white wine
• 275ml veg stock
• Sea salt
• Dried herbs
• Chilli flakes

How to use it

First, roast your vegetables. Cut the top off the garlic, drizzle olive oil into the head and wrap in silver foil. Drizzle olive oil over the peppers and tomatoes and season with sea salt and dried herbs of your choice. Roast at 190C for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes take out the tomato and pepper but leave the garlic in for another 30 minutes.

Saute finely chopped shallots in some olive oil and a teaspoon of butter for a couple of minutes until translucent. Add the rice, stir well and cook for a minute or so.

Add the white wine and bring to a bubble and simmer for a couple of minutes until the wine reduces. Add the veg stock and bring to a bubble again, then turn the heat down, cover and leave at a gentle bubble for 20 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Start the sticky process of squeezing the roasted garlic out of the cloves, making sure to slice off any dark brown pieces as they’ll be bitter. You’ll find a whole head produces less garlic than you’d imagine but it’s up to you how much you want to add to the rice. I went for the lot.

Stir into the rice the roasted garlic, peppers and tomatoes (leaving a few behind to garnish), and season to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of chilli flakes.

Mmm rating: mm mm mm

Cost: £2.00

What to watch while eating it: Billions

Calories: circa 500