Carrot pilaf

This dish takes humble ingredients and turns them into something remarkably tasty. Carrots and onions are cheap and good for you, even if they're not as trendy as kale or spirulina. Plus, they tend to be grown in this country. Add in some wholegrain rice, chick peas and spices, and you have a dish to nourish body and soul.
 

There's a certain amount of labour involved here, especially grating the carrots (if you have a food processor with a grater attachment, I recommend using it). But there's only one pan to wash up, and the results are worth it. I prefer the flavour of chick peas you have cooked yourself, and anyway you can cook a big batch and use them for other things, like making hummus. But feel free to use tinned if you prefer, or if you've forgotten to soak the chick peas.

I usually make a fairly large amount of this as it makes good leftovers - I sometimes take it to work as a packed lunch. I like it hot or at room temperature, though hot might be slightly nicer.

Serves four

Ingredients

250g dried chick peas, soaked overnight, or two 400g tins chick peas, drained
1 tsp vegetable oil
350g brown rice (preferably brown basmati)
350g carrots, coarsely grated
2 onions, chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Fresh parsley or coriander, and/or lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
25g toasted almonds or chopped hazelnuts, to serve

Method

If you are using dried chick peas, cover the soaked chick peas in fresh water and boil until cooked and tender all the way through. Cooking time may be around an hour, but can be more or less depending on how fresh they are and how long you have soaked them for. (I had a packet of quite small chick peas and those cooked quite quickly.) If you are using tinned chick peas you can skip this step.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chopped onions. Fry for about five minutes, then add the spices and cook for one minute more. Add the grated carrot, the rice, the crumbled stock cube, and enough boiling water to cover.

Simmer for about half an hour or for as long as the instructions on your rice packet suggest. Keep an eye on it and add a bit more water if it is getting too dry.

When the rice is cooked but still all dente, add the drained cooked chick peas (or drained tinned chick peas if you are using them). Taste and add more spices if necessary. Cook for another three to five minutes.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and chopped herbs, if using.