Winter warmer with chef emma galloway

If you haven’t heard of chef Emma Galloway let us introduce you. Creator of My Darling Lemon Thyme, a website dedicated to gluten-free vegetarian real food recipes, stories, and tips on organic gardening, we share Emma’s tomato pilaf recipe - which is sure to be a winter warmer winner. 

Emma and her children live with food allergies, and her aim is to inspire people to take charge of what they put into their bodies by cooking wholefood recipes from scratch.  Emma's recipes are as vibrant and beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat.

We share a recipe from Emma’s new book, My Darling Lemon Thyme Every Day, below.  

You can find Emma on the usual social channels or subscribe to her blog for updates straight to your inbox.

Tomato pilaf w/ black lentils + caramelised onion

This delicious and nutritious almost-one-pan-meal was inspired by Turkish tomato pilaf and Mujadara, a tasty combination of rice, lentils and onions found throughout the Middle East.  You can use puy-style or brown lentils in place of black lentils, if you prefer.

Serves 4  |  Gluten-free  |  Vegan

115g (½ cup) black (beluga) lentils, rinsed well

60ml (¼ cup) olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

250g tomatoes (Emma likes to use cherry), finely chopped

340g (1²⁄³ cups) white basmati rice, rinsed + drained well

750ml (3 cups) water

Coriander (cilantro) leaves, roughly chopped, to serve

Caramelised onions

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 onions, finely sliced

Fine salt, to taste

Place lentils into a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until just tender.  Drain and set aside.

Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat.  Add oil and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, before adding chopped tomatoes. Cook, stirring often, for 3–4 minutes, or until soft and juicy.  Add rice and stir then add water and a good pinch of salt.  Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside with the lid on for a further 10 minutes.

To make the caramelised onions, as soon as your rice is happily cooking away, heat oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, for 20–25 minutes or until deeply golden, taking care in the final 5–10 minutes to ensure the bottom doesn’t catch and burn. Season with salt. These can be prepared in advance and will store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

When the rice is cooked, remove the lid, stir through lentils, adjust seasoning if needed and serve topped with caramelised onions and chopped coriander. 

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