Vegetarian mains
Purple sprouting broccoli with bacon, wild garlic and camargue rice
This healthy dish makes a good, inexpensive weeknight meal-in-a-bowl. Camargue red rice has a lovely deep, nutty flavour and cooks down to be much softer than wholegrain brown rice. If you can't get hold of any, use brown basmati or a mixture of brown and wild rice. You could also try making this with quinoa. If you'd like a vegetarian version, just leave out the bacon.
Ingredients
- 1 litre veg stock (or water)
- 200g Camargue red rice, rinsed and drained
- 250g purple sprouting broccoli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 8 smoked streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped (use scissors for ease)
- 6-8 leaves wild garlic, shredded (if you can't forage for wild, use a clove or two of finely chopped dried garlic)
- splash sherry or balsamic vinegar
- juice of ½ lemon
- 50g hazelnuts, toasted in the oven or a frying pan, skins rubbed off, roughly chopped
- olive oil, for drizzling
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
In a large saucepan heat the stock until boiling and add the rice. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, until the rice is just tender.
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Step 2
Drain and keep to one side. Blanch or steam the purple sprouting broccoli for 3 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water, then drain again.
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Step 3
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and bacon, fry for a few minutes, until the bacon is just cooked. Add the wild garlic leaves and fry for a couple more minutes.
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Step 4
Add the purple sprouting broccoli, rice, vinegar and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss together to combine. Serve topped with the hazelnuts and a drizzle of olive oil.
