35 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 2
About the recipe
Blackening peppers over a flame or under the grill is a brilliant way to inject some delicious smoky, sweet flavours into your dish. Steaming them in a covered bowl is super important, too – it’ll help loosen the skins, which will make peeling them a lot easier. Brown rice is higher than white rice in vitamins and minerals, including B-vitamins niacin and thiamin, which your nervous system needs to be able to function properly. Happy cooking!
Ingredients
2 red peppers
200g brown rice
1 lemon
130ml fat-free plain yoghurt
6 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
100g spring onions
4 large field mushrooms
olive oil
10g shelled pistachios
extra virgin olive oil
50g feta cheese
Method
- Fill a medium saucepan with salted water, place on a high heat and bring to the boil.
- Place the peppers directly over the flame on your gas hob or under a very hot grill. Char for 15 minutes, or until blackened and blistered all over, turning occasionally.
- Meanwhile, add the rice to the boiling water and cook for 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a sieve, then tip back into the warm pan. Cover with a lid and set aside off the heat.
- Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside for later, then squeeze half the lemon juice into a small bowl. Add the yoghurt, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Once the peppers are blackened all over, place in a medium bowl, cover with a plate and leave them to steam for around 10 minutes, then remove the plate and leave until cool enough to handle.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the mushrooms, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Place a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat, scatter in the pistachios and lightly toast as it heats up. Tip the pistachios onto a board and roughly chop. Reduce the heat to medium, then return the pan to the heat.
- Place the mushrooms into the hot pan and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes, or until softened and cooked through. Remove the lid and fry for another 4 minutes, or until golden, turning halfway.
- Pick and finely chop the parsley leaves, then trim and finely slice the spring onions.
- Rub the blackened skin off the cooled peppers, then halve and deseed. Tear into strips and set aside on a plate with the juices.
- Stir the parsley and spring onions through the cooked rice with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of pepper. Sprinkle in the lemon zest and squeeze over the remaining juice.
- Pile the herby rice onto plates. Remove the mushrooms to a clean board and slice up, then toss with the peppers and resting juices. Spoon onto the rice, crumble over the feta, scatter the pistachios on top, then serve with the lemony yoghurt on the side.
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