This is a weeknight one pot that’s perfect when I fancy a Mediterranean-style rice dish but I don’t have the time or energy to make my Maqluba recipe. It’s pretty hands-off and comes together mostly in the oven, so you can have delicious homemade food even on nights when you need to multitask a little!
INGREDIENTS
Vegetables:
Cauliflower
Aubergine
Baby tomatoes
Red onion
Flavour:
Ras el hanout (substitution option: cumin)
Turmeric
Vegetable stock cube
Harissa paste (I used rose harissa)
Toppings:
Everything else:
Basmati rice (or any other long grain variety)
Chickpeas (pre-cooked)
Fresh herbs (I used parsley and mint)
Toasted pistachios
Medjool dates (or raisins)
Tahini
Lemon juice
Yoghurt (I used Greek, you can use vegan or any other type)
TIPS & NOTES
Personally, I like to make this in a round casserole dish because it’s easier, but if you don’t have one; any oven dish with foil over the top in place of a lid will do.
If you don’t have pre-toasted pistachio nuts, simply add them to a small frying pan over a low heat and toast for 5-7 mins until fragrant. Or add them to the oven for the last 5-10 mins in a separate ovenproof dish.
Since we’re using white rice for this recipe, I strongly suggest rinsing it well and soaking it before use. The good news is: you can do all of this whilst we give the vegetables a head start roasting in the oven! I also recommend letting rest so the rice can steam with the lid on for an extra 10 mins after it comes out of the oven, so you can get that lovely fluffy texture.
Cauliflower, Chickpea & Aubergine Baked Rice
A Mediterranean-inspired baked rice dish with minimal effort
Ingredients
- 250g of long grain rice (rinsed well)
- 1 head of cauliflower (cut into florets)
- 1 aubergine (cut into chunks)
- 125g of baby tomatoes
- 1 small red onion (cut into chunks)
- 2 Medjool dates (chopped)
- 40g harissa paste
- 1 400g can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 vegetable stock cube (dissolved in 300ml of boiling water immediately before use)
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 150g of Greek yoghurt
- 25g of tahini
- 1 tsp of turmeric
- 1 tsp of ras el hanout
- 50g of toasted pistachio nuts (roughly chopped)
- 30g of pomegranate seeds
- A handful of fresh herbs (I used parsley and mint) (large stems removed, chopped)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C and leave the rice soaking in fresh cold water
- Add the cauliflower, red onion, aubergine and tomatoes to the oven dish with a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper and the turmeric and ras el hanout – toss together and cook uncovered for 20 mins
- When the vegetables have been in for 5 mins, boil the kettle and prepare the vegetable stock
- Drain the rice, add it to the oven dish, with the rose harissa paste and vegetable stock, stir and cover to cook for a further 20 mins
- Add the chickpeas and dates, fold in with minimal stirring and cover to cook for another 5 mins before removing from the oven for the food to steam with the lid on for a further 10 mins (optional but recommended)
- Add the yoghurt to the tahini with the lemon juice, some salt and pepper and a tablespoon of cold water and whisk / stir together – add another 1-2 tbsp of water if needed to make it creamy
- Serve topped with the pomegranate seeds, fresh herbs, pistschios and tahini yoghurt
Let me know if you try my one pot baked rice!
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