rice

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, although it’s hard not to when you’re staring down at the misshapen, ugly face of a celeriac. Its knobbly, gnarly and often hairy skin looks like something out of a science fiction film.
Like a lot of people, I am guilty of overlooking this vegetable, but I felt sorry for it sitting on the shelf next to the prettier and cutely named munchkin pumpkin – the celeriac never have a chance. So I took his ugly mug home and lovingly peeled, chopped and roasted him in this delicious rice dish. It’s what he would have wanted.

Celeriac baked rice with goats cheese
Serves 4 / Hands on time 30 mins / Total time 1 hr 20 mins / V Gf
You’ll need: A deep oven-proof casserole dish
2 tsp rapeseed oil
1 white onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 medium sized celeriac (roughly 650g), peeled and cut into chunks
½ tsp garlic granules
½ tsp sea salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch chilli flakes
500ml vegetable stock, I use 1 Knorr stock pot
150g brown basmati rice
4 rosemary sprigs
200g vegetarian goats cheese (including rind)
100g black olives, drained and halved
Handful of parsley, chopped to serve

TIP: If making for two, half the recipe and use a smaller baking dish.

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 220°C/200°C fan/428°F/gas mark 7. Add the chopped onion and the garlic to a deep casserole dish along with the rapeseed oil, garlic granules, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes. Give it all a good stir.
2. Peel and cut the celeriac into large chunks and add to the dish and mix well. Add the rice and pour over the vegetable stock and stir carefully. Make sure the rice is fully immersed under the stock before adding the rosemary springs. Cover the dish in a layer of tin foil and bake in the oven for 45 mins.
3. Meanwhile, roughly chop the goats cheese, black olives and parsley.
4. Once cooked, remove from the oven and put the foil to one side. Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked – if the rice is still a little tough, cover in foil and return to the oven and cook for a further 5-10 mins. If cooked, sprinkle over the cheese and the black olives and return to the oven, covered in foil for a further 10 mins or until the cheese is melted.
5. Finish sprinkled with fresh parsley and serve with a simple green salad.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian. Gf– Gluten free

August. Is. Evil! Sure, the weather’s nice, and for one blissful month, I don’t have to share my commute with hundreds of school children, but just as I’m about to pour myself a well-deserved gin and tonic and plan the weekend ahead, I notice that I don’t have a single weekend free until mid-September. NOOOOOO! Weddings, Christenings, birthdays and reunions clog up my iPhone calendar like virtual turds that just won’t flush. I decide to leave the glass and take the bottle of gin to my wardrobe, where I stare blankly before deciding which outfits I can get away with wearing at least twice.

Four weeks on and I have successfully godmothered, danced and drunk my way through the wedding season. So it will come as no surprise that when I finally get a weekend to do what I want to do, I come down with a disgusting cold.
“At least you’re not an American prisoner of war in Vietnam” Jamie says, rather unsympathetically. Yes, well, I guess there’s always that I think, as I reach for the already empty box of tissues.

And what has any of this got to do with egg-fried rice? Admittedly, not much, apart from the fact that egg-fried rice was the only thing I managed to pull together before I collapsed into my bed for a few days. Top with a fried egg and serve drizzled with soy sauce.

Spring green egg fried rice

Serves 2 / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 20 mins / V Df

You’ll need: One small and one large frying pan

3 tsp sesame oil

3 spring onions, sliced into strips (keeping a little back for garnish)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 inch knob of ginger, grated

4 eggs (2 beaten)

80g spring greens, chopped cabbage or kale (roughly two handfuls)

30g frozen peas

250g cooked brown basmati rice

1½ tbs light soy sauce

Method
1. Prepare a large frying and a small frying pan by adding 1 tsp of sesame oil to each. Put the large frying pan on a medium to high heat and allow the oil to warm. Meanwhile chop the spring onions, garlic and grate the ginger. Add these to the pan and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add the beaten egg and allow to cook for 30 seconds before using a spoon to break up the egg. Add the chopped greens and the frozen peas along with a dash of water to help them steam. Allow to cook for another couple of minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put the smaller frying pan on a medium to high heat and crack in both eggs. Fry until the white is set but the yolk is still soft.
4. Whilst the eggs are cooking, add the cooked rice, soy sauce and a tsp of sesame oil to the greens and cook for a further 3 minutes. Finally, divide into bowls and serve topped with a fried egg and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Df– Dairy free