Rice can get a bit dull sometimes as a trusty side for your meal. The aim of this recipe is to jazz the staple up a bit so that it both looks and tastes better. I've used a mix of red and brown rice here as that's what I had in my cupboard, but you could easily use either or another type of rice entirely here.
Oh, and if you haven't tried roasting grapes before I would definitely recommend giving it a whirl.
What's the A to V?
Rice is a fantastic source of vitamin B1, or thiamine. So much so that a reliance on polished rice in Asia back in the 19th century (polishing rice removes much of the bran and thus most of the vitamins) led to the identification of the first vitamin deficiency disease. It's also a great source of manganese - aided here by the nuts.
Ingredients (Serves 4):
225g red, brown or wild rice
1/2 a vegetable stock cube
170g red seedless grapes
35g walnuts (pecans work well too)
1tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to season, and a drizzle of olive oil
Method
Bring a saucepan of water and your stock cube to the boil, then add your rice.
Cook as per packet instructions (typically 20-30 minutes for brown and red rice).
Meanwhile, drizzle a bit of oil over your nuts and grapes and roast in the oven at 180 degrees. Keep an eye on the nuts as these tend to go from perfect to inedible pretty quickly. I find 5-10 minutes does the trick for toasting nuts, and about 20-30 minutes for the grapes.
Once your rice is cooked through, drain, and place in a bowl or plate. Add your nuts and oregano and stir well. Finish with your grapes and another drizzle of oil and you're good to go. This dish works just as well cold as hot so no need to serve straight away.