Dairy-free lunch recipe for 4 people, takes only 40 mins; recipe has carrot, red onion, olive oil, cumin seed, cardamom pod, cinnamon stick, basmati rice, vegetable stock, lentil, baby spinach and almond.
Spiced vegetable pilaf
Course: Dairy-free lunch
Servings
4
servings
Prep time
10 mins
Ingredients
- Olive Oil: 2 tbsp olive oil
- Red Onion: 3 red onions, cut into wedges
- Vegetable Stock: 400ml vegetable stock
- Carrot: 6 carrots, cut lengthways into 6-8 wedges
- Baby Spinach: 200g baby spinach
- Lentil: 400g can brown lentils, rinsed and drained
- Almond: handful toasted flaked almonds, or a few whole almonds (optional)
- Cumin Seed: 2 tsp cumin seeds
- Basmati Rice: 200g brown basmati rice, rinsed
- Cardamom Pod: 4 cardamom pods
- Cinnamon Stick: 1 cinnamon stick
Directions
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In boiling water, cook carrots for 4 mins, tipping in onions for the last min of cooking. Drain and mix in a roasting tin with 4 tsp oil, the cumin and seasoning. Roast for 30 mins, while you cook the rice.
- Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large pan. Add cardamom and cinnamon for 30 secs, then add rice and toast for 1 min. Pour over stock and 100ml water, then simmer, covered, for 25-30 mins, until rice is tender and the water absorbed. Remove cinnamon and cardamom.
- Tip in lentils and fork through before topping with spinach. Put lid back on and cook over a low heat, stirring once, until spinach has wilted and lentils heated through. Fork through again before tipping the cumin roasted veg onto the top and sprinkling with almonds, if using.
