spiced greens + grains

have it as a salad or served hot.

When I’ve got lots to do and am trying not to buy lunch at while work (I do this far too often), I like making something inspired by a restaurant I buy from so as not to get fomo. This dish - vaguely inspired by a salad at a CC Babcoq Cronulla - does the trick; it’s a far cry from a sad and limp tofu sandwich.

The best thing about this is that you can have it hot or as a salad - no microwave necessary!

As with so many of my recipes, you can mix it up veggie wise, depending on what you’ve got in your fridge. You can even add different grains, just make sure the cooking times align if you want to cook them all together.

The recipe calls for ras-el-hanout, which you can buy from the shops but if it’s not available, you can make a spice mix with 2
teaspoons ground nutmeg; 2 teaspoons ground coriander; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 2 teaspoons turmeric; 2 teaspoons salt; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1 1⁄2 teaspoons paprika; 1 teaspoon ground allspice; 2 teaspoons cardamom powder and 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves. All of these are found at most supermarkets.

let’s go!

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ingredients.

1 cup brown rice + a sprinkle of other grains, as long as cooking times align (ie quinoa, freekeh or barley)

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion

3 gloves garlic, chopped

1 red chilli, chopped

1 floret broccoli/ cauliflower, chopped

2 cups okra, halved

1/2 zucchini, diced

1 tomato, roughly chopped

1 can beans, drained and rinsed (I used butter beans)

Handful apricots, roughly chopped

1 tbsp ras el hanout, homemade or store-bought (see above)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

Coriander, to serve

Mixed seeds, to serve

1/2 lemon, to serve

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how to.

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Add grease proof paper to an oven-proof tray, set aside.

2. In a heavy pot (this will eventually be used to make the grains too), heat olive oil on medium-high and sauté onion, garlic and chilli until onion is soft.

3. Add the other veggies and stir gently, cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the beans and apricots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and cumin.

4. Spread the vegetables on the oven tray in one layer and bake until crispy (turn on the grill at the end if desired).

5. While the veggies are in the oven, add the veggie stock; ras-el-hanout; turmeric and the rice/ grains to the same pot used for the veggies. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until soft but with a little bite to the rice still. Let cool.

6. When the rice has cooled, add the veggies back to the pot and mix. Drizzle some extra olive oil if it looks a little dry. Serve with coriander, mixed seeds/nuts and some lemon on top. The lunch break you will thank you.