Spanish Rice

The boy's mum brought us back some beautiful chorizo from Spain. Now I try my hardest to avoid red meat but in the face of chorizo, even I crumble occasionally! The beauty of this tasty lunch recipe was that I could add chorizo into Mark's dish but leave mine as a healthy vegan option. Don't be tempted to skimp on the smoked paprika, it is this wonderful spice that really adds the authenticity here.

Spanish Rice

1 cup of rice
saffron
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
cherry tomatoes
1 tin of white beans
sun dried tomatoes
handful of pitted black olives
chorizo
chopped flat leaf parsley

Put the rice on to boil in a large saucepan. Add the saffron strands and turmeric directly to the water. Halve the cherry tomatoes and place them cut side up in a pre-heated oven with a splash of olive oil for around 10 minutes or until they start to soften.

Chop the red onion and fry it in the olive oil along with the crushed garlic cloves. Drain and rinse the white beans and add to the pan. Add the chopped pitted black olives, the chopped sun dried tomatoes and chorizo (if using) before adding the smoked paprika. Fry for a little longer until heated through.

Once the rice is cooked, mix it with the other ingredients including the cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and season with salt and pepper.

I am pretty sure that there are a whole heap more authentic ways to do Spanish rice but this was my own made up attempt!