Seven Vegetable Rice with Tofu

Super healthy with lots of protein, healthy spices and fibre, this dish is low in fat and full of flavour.  The textures are great too with the red pepper remaining crunchy. There is a lot of chopping involved but this can all be done in the time it takes for the rice to cook.Ingredients  for 2

200ml (7 fluid ounces) of brown basmati rice (with a little red or wild rice mixed in if you have it)

vegetable oil

an onion

a small carrot

a large stick of celery

a teaspoon of tumeric

a teaspoon of dried chillies

a few grinds of black pepper

a red pepper (bell pepper, capsicum)

a one inch (2 and a 1/2cm) piece of ginger

2 large garlic cloves

2 tablespoons of black beans (I opened a can and froze the rest to be defrosted and used later)

a handful of frozen peas

5 large mushrooms

250g (9 ounces) of broccoli

half a pack (175g, 6 ounces) of tofu (I used Mori-nu firm silken, the rest can stay in the fridge for a few days in water)

one and a half tablespoons of dark soy sauce

black pepper

salad leaves to serve (optional)

Method

Rinse the rice and place in a small lidded saucepan with double the amount of water (400ml, 14 fluid ounces) and add a little salt.  Bring to the boil.  Reduce heat to the minimum, put the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes placing the broccoli florets on top for the last 6 minutes

Dice the onion.  Splash the bottom of another lidded saucepan with oil, add the onion, sprinkle with salt and stir to coat.  Put the lid on and start to sweat on a low heat while the other vegetables are prepared

Scrub (no need to peel) and chop the carrot into a fine dice and add this to the onion

Slice the celery lengthways down the middle and then slice finely and add to the onion and carrot

Chop the ginger and garlic and add these

Add the teaspoon of dried chillies

Slice the mushrooms and add these

Dice the red pepper into one inch (2 and a 1/2 cm) pieces and add these

Add the teaspoon of tumeric

Give it all a good stir

Add 50ml (one and 3/4 fluid ounces) of water

Add the 2 tablespoons of black beans

Add the one and a half tablespoons of soy sauce

(Check the timing of the rice and add the broccoli cut into bite sized florets 6 minutes before the 20 minutes cooking time is up)

Add the handful of frozen peas to the vegetables mixutre

Chop the tofu finely (or into the piece size you prefer, I like it hidden!) and add this, stir and simmer with the lid on until the rice is ready.  If, with all that chopping, the vegetables have taken slightly longer than the rice to assemble, let the rice stand while the vegetables are finishing

Serve with a handful of seasonal salad leaves and more black pepper and soy sauce if required

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