Feta and Vegetable Rice Bake
Serves: 4 people
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes
A colourful medley of vegetables in a delicious baked rice casing courtesy of BBC Good Food. Each time we make this, I sneak more Parmesan into the rice and also add mixed seeds for interest and crunch, as well as valuable source of protein.
Ingredients
200g Long Grain or Basmati Rice
¼ cup mixed seeds (optional)
2 Large Eggs
100g Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Large Red Onion
2Courgette
Trio of Peppers
200g Cherry Tomatoes
1 tsp Dried Basil
45g Pitted Black Olives (or mixed green and black olives)
200g pack Feta Cheese, cut into small cubes
50ml Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Black Pepper
1 shallow ovenproof dish approx. 20 x 30cm
AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.......
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
2. Cook the rice as per instructions on the pack – drain and allow to cool a little.
3. Meanwhile, peel the red onion and chop into medium size chunks.
4. Chop the courgettes into the same size pieces.
5. Chop the peppers, discarding any pith and seeds, the same size as the onions and courgette.
6. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
7. Chop the feta into chunks the same size as the vegetables.
8. Mix all the above along with the olives in a bowl with the olive oil and the basil, season with some black pepper and mix well.
9. Beat the eggs, add the grated Parmesan cheese and mix with the rice.
10. Grease the dish with some olive oil, spread the rice mixture over the base and up the sides of the dish. At this point, you can blind bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Then add the cooked veg thereafter, and serve.
11. Pour the vegetable mix in the centre.
12. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes – until the rice on the sides is crisp and the vegetables browned.
13. Alternatively, you can blind bake the rice pastry case and roast the veg separately and then assemble, and serve. Personally, I prefer to cook it this way and you can ensure the rice pastry is cooked through first.
13. Cut into slices or quarters and serve.