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Vegan Rice Pilaf
Prep 15 minutes
Cooking 20 minutes
Total 35 minutes
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 1 zucchini/courgette
  • 1 red capsicum/bell pepper
  • 2 handfuls peas I just use frozen
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • small piece of fresh ginger
  • 1 small onion
  • 100g / ½ cup Basmati rice
  • 200ml / ~ ¾ cup veggie broth see notes, if using my veggie stock paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 8 whole cloves
  • a handful nuts chopped, I like using almonds
  • 2 tbsp oil I use coconut oil

Instructions
 

  • Prepare your rice: rinse the rice thoroughly to remove the starch or any debris. Then soak it for about 10-15 minutes. After that, you drain the rice through a sieve (we need it in step 4).
  • Meanwhile, prepare your veggies: Cut the zucchini in quarters, lengthwise, and slice. Dice capsicum. Finely Chop garlic, fresh ginger and onion.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan or pot. Once hot, fry bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon stick for about a minute until they release their aroma (that’s when you start to smell the spices).
  • Add ginger, garlic, onion and drained rice and fry for about 2-3 minutes until the rice looks translucent. Add veggie stock and bring back to a boil. Then stir for a few seconds.
  • Add veggies (except for peas) and spread over the rice. It doesn’t matter if some of them aren’t covered in water. The steam will cook them.
  • Reduce heat to its lowest setting and cover with a lid. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, without stirring it. Don’t worry about burning the rice. It won’t because we’re cooking it on low heat.
    Add frozen peas at the very last moment, just to heat them up.
  • Pick out the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cloves, season pilaf with salt and pepper and stir in chopped nuts.

Notes

  • If you want to use my veggie stock, mix 1 level tbs with 200ml water.
  • Vegetables: Green beans, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant or carrots work fine as well!
  • Spices: you can add or swap the spices too. You can add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 cardamom pods and/or ½ teaspoon coriander seeds. For colouring and extra flavour, you could add 1 teaspoon of turmeric or maybe a bit of saffron.
  • Picking out the cloves at the end can be a pain – they definitely know how to hide, particularly, the last one! Make sure you use big ones and count them before you put them in. At the end, leave them out on the bench or on a cutting board, so you know how many you’ve already got out of there.