Week 5-MONDAY – DINNER Susuana’s Jollof Rice

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Susuana Komolafe from Cavan was a Leader on the 2021 series of Operation Transformation – she’s keen to bring a healthy twist to a delicious dish that’s authentic to her heritage.

Serves 4 (each serving contains approximately 500 kcal)

Prep:
Cook:
10 Minutes
25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: Serves 2
Ingredients
salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper
120g frozen peas
good pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
400g tin chickpeas
400ml chicken stock (made from 1 stock cube – reduced sodium)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons tomato puree (30g)
2 tablespoons rapeseed oils (30g)
200g tin chopped tomatoes (or use ½ regular sized tin)
1 Scotch bonnet chilli (optional)
2 garlic cloves
3cm piece fresh root ginger
1 small onion
2 red pepper
260g long grain rice

directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Tip the rice into a sieve and rinse well under cold water, then drain and set aside.

Cut the red peppers in half and remove the cores and seeds, then roughly chop. Cut the onion in half, then peel and roughly chop. Peel the ginger and garlic and finely grate. Roughly chop the chilli, if using. Place everything in a mini food processor or Nutribullet and blitz to a puree.

Heat a casserole over a medium heat. Add half the oil and sauté the tomato puree for 2-3 minutes. Add the blitzed pepper mixture and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the herbs, spices and a pinch of salt (optional) and about half a teaspoon of pepper. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Stir the rice into the vegetable mixture to coat. Pour in the stock and give a good stir. Cover with a lid and cook on a very low heat for 15 minutes until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes with the lid on.

Drain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water, then dry on kitchen paper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the rest of the oil. Tip in the chickpeas and frozen peas. Season with salt(optional) and pepper, then add the dried chilli, if using and cook for 2-3 minutes until sizzling.

Gently fork the jollof rice and divide among plates. Add the chickpea and pea mixture alongside to serve.