Jess Prescott’s Pumpkin and black bean baked rice

We all need meals in our repertoire that you can prep ahead of time and throw on when you get home, leaving it to cook itself while you take care of any of the bazillion things on your to-do list. This is one of those meals.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180 fan-forced (200C conventional).

Step 2

Heat the olive oil in a large casserole pot (Dutch oven) or an ovenproof saucepan over a medium-high heat, add three-quarters of the onion, and cook for a couple of minutes until it is starting to go transparent. Add the garlic and spices and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the rice, beans, pumpkin, salt and water. Increase the heat to high then, once the water is simmering, cover with a lid and transfer to the hot oven to cook for 30 minutes.

Step 3

While the pumpkin and rice are cooking, make a simple salsa by combining the reserved finely chopped onion with the chopped tomato, jalapeno and coriander leaves in a small bowl.

Step 4

After 30 minutes, remove the dish from the oven, take off the lid, give it a stir, then serve in bowls and top each serving with the salsa, diced avocado, a squeeze of fresh lime and spoonfuls of sour cream or cashew cream.

Step 5

Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, and up to 3 months in the freezer.