Herby Jewelled Rice | Recipe

I have a feeling that this will be one of the most popular recipes in the book. It’s beautifully fresh and vibrant, with the pomegranates, parsley, lemon and rocket, while the harissa gives it a lovely warmth, and the aubergine and walnuts a little earthiness. I make this for friends a lot and it’s always a hit. It’s a nice recipe to double up so that you can use the leftovers as an on-the-go lunch.

Serves  2
30 minutes

2 servings of brown basmati rice

(about 50g per person)

2 aubergines, cut into thin half

moons (about 1cm thick)

1 tablespoon harissa

1 tablespoon olive oil

large handful of walnuts

(about 75g), roughly chopped

200g pomegranate seeds

½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley

(about 10–15g), roughly chopped

½ bunch of mint (about 10–15g), roughly chopped

large handful of rocket (about 50g)

sea salt and black pepper

For the Harissa Dressing

x1 teaspoon harissa

2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of ½ lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

Bring 300ml salted water to the boil in a small saucepan, add the rice then cover with a lid and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Leave to stand until everything else is ready and fluff with a fork before serving.

Once you’ve got the rice going, put the aubergine, harissa and olive oil on to a large baking tray and season generously with salt and pepper. Give it a really good stir so that the aubergine is coated in harissa and olive oil (using your hands helps with this!). Roast for 25 minutes, stirring once, until the aubergine is tender.

When the aubergine has about 5 minutes left, scatter over the walnuts and return the baking tray to the oven.

To serve, toss the cooked aubergine and walnuts with the rice, pomegranate seeds, parsley, mint and rocket. Mix the dressing ingredients, pour over the salad, then taste to check the seasoning and divide between plates.