Truly Yummy Baked Rice & Salsa
A fragrant gluten free and dairy free baked mint rice served with a fresh pomegranate, green olive and walnut salsa. A perfect side dish or light meal.
A Baked Rice That’s Full Of Flavour
My Truly Yummy Baked Rice & Salsa is a truly special dish. It can be enjoyed on its own as a different kind of rice salad or served as a vibrant side dish. Delicious served warm or cold, it also pairs beautifully with my Truly Yummy Slow Cook Lamb Shoulder or Truly Yummy Feta Lamb Burgers.
Inspired by Ottolenghi, Made Truly Yummy
I first discovered the inspiration for this recipe in Ottolenghi Simple, but in true Truly Yummy style, I have adapted it slightly by tweaking some of the ingredients and ingredient quantities to ensure it is completely gluten free and dairy free.
The Perfect Side Dish for Lamb and BBQs
It works beautifully alongside roast lamb as a lighter alternative to roast potatoes or served at a BBQ with lamb burgers for something a little different.
Why Baking Rice Makes All the Difference
Baking the rice with fresh mint is a real game changer. The rice absorbs the fragrant cooking liquid, leaving it fluffy, light and perfectly textured in a way you don’t quite achieve with cooking rice on top of the stove. The fresh mint and seasoning also infuse the grains giving a subtle aromatic flavour throughout.
Once topped with the fresh salsa, the rice is transformed into something really special. The balance of rice to salsa is important, as the salsa is packed with flavour and texture, and you want every bite to include a little of everything.
Although it looks impressive, this dish is surprisingly quick to prepare. My tip is to make the salsa first before baking the rice so the salsa flavours have time to develop. The pomegranate molasses, garlic and olive oil dressing meld together beautifully, creating delicious depth of flavour in every mouthful.
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Truly Yummy Baked Rice & Salsa
Equipment
- 1 small bowl
- 1 oven proof dish
Ingredients
Salsa
- 100 g pitted green olives, thinly sliced
- 240 g pomegranate seeds / 1 whole pomegranate seeded recommend pack of pomegranate seeds rather than preparing a whole fruit
- 100 g walnut halves, roasted and chopped – see below
- 30 g removing 3 sprigs for the baked rice, finely chop the remaining fresh mint leaves
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
Baked Rice
- 200 g basmati rice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 sprigs of fresh mint leaves left on the stalk
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 400 ml boiling water
- 200-250 g block of feta, chopped into 1cm cubes recommend Violife Greek White Block or if you can tolerate a little ewe's milk some supermarkets sell 100% ewe's milk feta
Instructions
Salsa
- Preheat the oven to 200℃/Gas Mark 6.
- Lay the walnuts on a baking tray and lightly roast in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven, leave to cool and then chop into smaller pieces.
- Place the sliced green olives, pomegranate seeds, chopped fresh mint and chopped walnut halves into a small bowl.
- Add the dressing ingredients – crushed garlic, extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses plus a little salt and pepper and give everything a good mix.
- Set to one side whilst the rice is baking. Alternatively cover and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Baked Rice
- Pour the rice into the oven proof dish.
- Season this with the salt and pepper, drizzle with the olive oil and top with the fresh mint sprigs.
- Add the boiling water, do not stir and cover tightly with tin foil.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- When the cooking time is up, carefully remove the foil and check that the rice is cooked through and all the liquid has been absorbed, leaving the rice light and fluffy. If necessary, return it to the oven for a few more minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid has fully evaporated.
- Remove the mint sprigs from the rice, strip the cooked leaves from the stalks and finely chop them. Stir the chopped mint into the salsa.
Assembly
- Carefully pour the salsa over the top of the baked rice including all of the delectable dressing.
- Finally, sprinkle the feta cubes over the top of the salsa.
- Serve straight away or allow the rice to cool before putting it in the fridge to serve cold later or the next day.
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