roast tomatoes with chorizo and red rice
This dish uses camargue red rice, which has some great health benefits and is even more nutritious than brown rice (see tip below). Look out for nitrate/nitrite free chorizo in your supermarket. This is a great dish for using up a glut of tomatoes or turning large and sometimes rather tasteless supermarket tomatoes into something delicious. The addition of the Belazu smoky tomatoes add a great depth of flavour - but is of course optional.
ingredients
serves 6 as a side
200g camargue red rice
2 red onions
8 large tomatoes
1/2 jar of Belazu smoky tomatoes (optional)
190g packet of chorizo
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
1x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
method
prep time: 45 minutes
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place the rice in a saucepan and cover with double the quantity of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked. This will take about 35-40 minutes, but it depends on the variety of rice.
While the rice is cooking slice the onions and place in a medium roasting dish.
Slice the tomatoes and add to the dish along with the Belazu smokey tomatoes if using.
Chop the chorizo into rounds and again add to the dish.
Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and paprika.
Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, give everything a stir and place in the oven to roast for 40 minutes.
When the tomatoes have finished cooking stir in the red rice.
Serve alongside a chicken breast or some fish to increase protein.
the health boost tip
The health benefits of red rice are due to the antioxidant procyanidins. These antioxidants have been well studied and are particularly good for heart health. Tomatoes are also excellent for heart health and provide an impressive array of vitamins and minerals. By cooking tomatoes you manage to increase the content of lycopene, especially when cooked with olive oil.
