Baked mint rice with pomegranate and olive salsa

Cooking rice perfectly is one of those things that sholuldnr't be complicated but can be surprisingly difficult, for some, to get right. Baking it in the oven, on the other hand, as I do here, is a completely foolproof method (and one that worked, incidentally, when feeding 700 people over two sittings at Wilderness festival in 2017). This is such a great side to all sorts of dishes: roasted root vegetables, slow- cooked lamb or pork. To get ahead, the salsa can be made a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 230C fan, or as high as your oven will go,

Step 2

Place the rice in a high-sided ovenproof dish, measuring 20 x 30cm. Season with 3-4 teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, then pour over the butter and boiling water. Top with the sprigs of mint and cover the dish tightly with tin foil so that the rice is well sealed. Bake for 25 minutes, until the rice is light and fluffy and all the liquid has been absorbed.

Step 3

Meanwhile place all the ingredients for the salsa, minus the 10g mint in a medium bowl with 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well and set aside.

Step 4

Take the rice out of the oven, and remove and discard the foil. Pull the leaves offthe mint sprigs- the stalks can be discarded- then place these back on the rice and sprinkle with the feta. Just before serving stir the shredded mint into the salsa and spoon evenly over the rice Serve hot.