Mexican Style Beany Rice

Although Mexican rice is usually more of a side dish, this is actually a lovely little vegetarian lunch dish. Made even more fabulous if eaten under a warm sun and served with some fresh guacamole.

If you’re short on time use white basmati rice and you could halve the cooking time.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped fairly finely
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh chilli, chopped (leave this out if you prefer a milder dish)
• 1 teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and smoked paprika
• 1 bayleaf
• 10 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 300g brown basmati rice
• 600ml of hot stock
• 1 can of black beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• A large handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• The juice of 1 lime

MEthod

• In a large pan heat your oil and gently fry your onion for about 5 minutes.
• Now add the garlic and chilli and continue to cook for another minute before stirring in the spices and bayleaf.
• Tumble in the tomatoes and cook for a further minute.
• Tip in the rice and stir so that it is coated with the spicy mix. Pour over the stock and bring to the boil.
• Turn down and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 40 minutes or until the rice is tender, keep an eye on it and if the water disappears before the rice is cooked to perfection, just add a little water. When it is cooked the liquid should have absorbed into the rice.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the beans, lime and coriander and season if you think it needs it.
• You can serve this straight away, at room temperature or even cold. If you have an avocado or 2 in your fridge then I urge you to make a simple guacamole to top this off.