One Dish Baked Rice

Of all the things to come out of isolation, I have one question:

Where the beep are all the dishes coming from?!

There’s 2.5 of us in my house and it seems like we make enough dishes for 8 people.

I’m getting so sick of doing dishes.

To remedy this problem, I’ve really been relying on one pot/dish/bowl meals.

Like this one dish baked rice. Keep in mind, I first made this recipe when it was cooler weather than what we’ve been experiencing this week. I don’t recommend turning on your oven when its 20+ outside, but do tuck this one away for a cloudy day.

The beauty of this dish is that it can be set in the oven and forgotten about. I don’t know about you, but I hold a baby for 90% of my waking hours, so I praise anything that can be put together and left to do its thing.

This recipe makes enough for four as a light dinner, or for six as a side.

One Dish Baked Rice Serves 4

1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup tomato passata or crushed tomatoes
1 cup leeks (about 2 thin ones), finely sliced*
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 small head of broccoli, diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 can of any bean, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
Optional seasonings**

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Grease a glass baking dish big enough to house all the ingredients plus a little room for expansion.
3. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients as you prepare them.
4. Dump everything into your awaiting vessel, cover with a lid or tin foil and bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the rice is cooked through. It’s that simple.
5. Enjoy while discussing what summer activity if your favourite.

*You could very well use an onion and finely dice it. I like to use leeks to get a mild onion-y flavour without the complaints of my child.
**In and of itself, this dish is flavourful thanks to the mix of classic vegetables. But it’s really a blank slate. For a Tex-Mex twist, add in a tablespoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of ground cumin, and a squish of lime. For an Italian take, add in a teaspoon each of dried basil, oregano, and parsley and top with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan on each serving. If you make it your own, please share it with me!

Note: This rice could be cooked on the stove with everything mixed into a pot, but I found the ease of putting it in the oven and forgetting about it to be what really makes it stress-free. Plus I find that baking rice gives it the perfect texture.