Baked Ratatouille Rice

With the recent publication of BOSH! On A Budget, authors Henry and Ian have allowed us to share this flavourful Baked Ratatouille Rice. A great weekday staple you’ll end up making again and again!

In the BOSH! kitchen, we always find simple ratatouille to be a little boring as a dish, and we wanted to make something truly outstanding. This baked ratatouille rice is perhaps the finest baked rice we’ve ever tasted! First, we use confit tomatoes, garlic and herbs with oil, before adding a wonderful selection of veg and rice to create a perfectly flavoured all-in-one dish. This Mediterranean-flavoured dish tastes as good as it looks.

INGREDIENTS – Serves 4

1 large red onion

650g cherry tomatoes 12 large or 25 small

garlic cloves

15g fresh parsley

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground fennel

½ tsp Italian herbs

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

100ml olive oil

1 aubergine

1 courgette

1 vegetable stock cube

2 tbsp tomato puree

600ml boiling water

300g basmati rice

4-5 medium tomatoes salt and black pepper

To serve

green salad

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Prepare the base
Peel, halve and slice the onion. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Peel and slice the garlic. Pick the parsley leaves and set them to one side.

Add the onion, tomatoes, garlic, parsley stems, cinnamon, fennel, Italian herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil to the roasting dish and gently stir everything together. Put the dish in the oven and roast for 50 minutes.

Prepare the topping vegetables
Trim the aubergine and courgette and cut into 3-4mm rounds. Cut the medium tomatoes into 5mm thick slices.

Carry on cooking
Remove the dish from the oven and increase the temperature to 220°C. Add the stock cube, tomato puree and boiling water to a jug and stir until the stock cube has dissolved.

Sprinkle the rice evenly over the roasting dish. Gently pour in the stock to cover the rice. Arrange the aubergine, courgette and tomato slices over the rice in sequence, working in a spiral from the outside to the middle, until the rice is completely covered. Season with salt and pepper, seal the dish tightly with tin foil, put it in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Finish the dish
Take the dish out of the oven and carefully remove the foil (watch out for steam). Turn the grill to the max and put the dish underneath. Grill for 10-15 minutes, until the top has turned golden and lightly crispy

Serve
Garnish with the parsley leaves. Spoon into serving dishes and serve immediately with a simple green salad.