Over the last few weeks, since the weather has become cooler, I have been attempting to get my vegetable garden back into some sort of order. Our Summer was a very hot one, so any seedlings that were planted quickly wilted and did not thrive. Finally, I have been able to see some progress. My first plucking of anything other than rocket or herbs has been these cute mini capsicums in orange, yellow and red. They are just beginning to ripen in bunches that are perfect roasted whole.
I decided to use them in my ‘one pot’ rice and lentil dish. Another variation on the dish I posted earlier this year. A perfect dish when a ‘no fuss’ healthy dinner is the plan and there are limited supplies in the fridge/pantry. This time, I roasted cubed pumpkin with the whole mini capsicums. Cherry tomatoes would also be perfect, but I did not have any on hand.
brown rice quinoa lentils & roasted vegetables
Any mixture of grains or lentils you have on hand can be used. I used 1 cup of grains to ½ cup lentils, then nearly double the water. I would not use red lentils as they just go mushy – a lentil that stays whole when cooked works best. Also, any nuts or combination of vegetables to roast would work nicely as well (cubed fresh beetroot, sweet potato, turnip, whole cherry tomatoes, cubed eggplant, zucchini).
ingredients
½ cup brown rice
½ cup quinoa (white or red, or a mixture)
¼ cup brown lentils
¼ cup French green lentils
2¾ cup water
¼ pumpkin, peeled and cubed
handful whole mini capsicums or a large one, in chunks
1 tsp fennel seeds
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp olive oil (or oil from labne)
3 – 4 heaped Tbsp labne (or drained Greek yoghurt/feta)
a generous handful of fresh continental parsley and basil leaves
2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted and lightly smashed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
preparation
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Rinse rice, quinoa and lentils and place in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with water. Bring to a gentle boil, and return to simmer. Cover and leave undisturbed until all water has evaporated, about 20 – 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toss pumpkin and capsicum in a sprinkling of olive oil and the fennel seeds and place in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake until edges begin to brown, about 15 – 20 minutes.
4. When water has absorbed into the rice mixture, fluff with a fork, then add lemon juice and olive oil. Mix in well and add roasted vegetables, labne, herbs, pine nuts.
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve either warm or cold.
Goodness shared from Donna
