The One That Made Rebecca Eat Vegetables

Mum could never make risotto - she has no patience for all the stirring - so we always had savoury rice instead. And as risotto is my university staple, this was my Mum's. And it's awesome. 

I made it last year for Zosia, Rebecca and Felix, and we noticed Rebecca leaving all the vegetables, which she'd done before but we'd never picked up on. We then discovered that Rebecca didn't like vegetables. Cue going through each one ('these are mange tout, they're kind of like peas...'), until SHE'D EATEN ALL THE VEGETABLES. This is my claim to fame and also brilliant-ness.

The 'Getting Rebecca to Eat Vegetables' Process

Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 300g brown rice
- 600ml water
- 1tsp marmite
- 1-2tbsp herb de provence
- 1tbsp tomato purée
- salt and pepper
- handful green beans
- 75g baby corn
- 75g sugar snaps, or mange tout
- 150g cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
1. In a large saucepan, fry the onion  and garlic with a knob of butter for a few minutes. Add the carrot and cook for about 8 more minutes, until softened.
2. Add the rice and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the water, marmite, tomato purée and herbs, and season.
3. Bring to the boil, then put on a lid (or tin foil if you don't have one), turn down the temperature and simmer for 30 minutes - stirring halfway through so it doesn't stick.
4. Add the beans, corn and sugar snaps and cook for 5 more minutes before adding the cheese. Turn off the heat and put the lid back on for a minute so all the cheese melts, then serve - preferably with lots of garlic bread or courgette fritters.

 It's super simple, and unlike risotto it requires no effort whatsoever. So no patience required! The only thing is it doesn't keep so well (though I may attempt savoury rice patties at some point), so make sure you have plenty of people to eat it all!