Majadera - lentils and brown rice dish
This one is originally a side dish, but it has so much good stuff in it that it can easily be a full meal with some fresh veggies and a few spoons of tahini. It’s another great idea for batch cooking. Pop it in the freezer and defrost whenever you are stuck without a healthy side or a vegetarian/vegan meal. Once defrosted, fry in a pan. It will feel fresh, as if you just finished making it.
Ingredients
5–6 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium white onions, peeled
2 sticks of celery (with or without the leaves)
3 scallions - white and green parts
1½ cups brown rice (any type you fancy)
¾ cup black or green lentils
1 level teaspoon baharat spice mix – don’t skip it
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt (you can add a bit more if you like)
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ cup pine nuts
4 cups boiling water
To serve (optional): a small handful of chopped fresh parsley or coriander or a mix of both
Method
Put the rice into a bowl and cover with plenty of water. Leave it for 20–30 minutes.
Slice the onions into strips about ½ cm thick. Slice the celery and scallions into thin slices.
In a wide, shallow pot, heat the olive oil and fry the onions, scallions and celery until the onion turns a deep golden brown. Take your time here, don’t rush it (the rice is soaking anyway). If the oil gets absorbed and the onions start to get burnt, add about ⅓ cup of boiling water and keep cooking until the water evaporates completely.
Stir in the pine nuts and cook everything together for 3–5 minutes, until the pine nuts are nicely golden.
Remove half of the onion and pine nut mixture and keep it in a bowl for later.
Drain the rice from the water.
Add the rice to the pot (with the remaining onion mixture).
Add the lentils (you can rinse them if you like, but it’s not essential) and the spices. Fry everything together for about 3 minutes. You can add a drizzle more olive oil at this stage if needed.
Add 4 cups of boiling water, give it a stir, lower the heat to low, and cover with a lid. Cook for 35–45 minutes, or until the rice is soft.
When it’s cooked, turn off the heat but leave the lid on for 10 minutes before opening. Stir through the onion and pine nuts you set aside, sprinkle over some chopped parsley or coriander, if using, and serve.
