Move over fried rice! This Middle-Eastern inspired spiced rice is our favourite way to use up day-old rice, as well as leftover roasted vegetables.
It's such a quick and easy, mid-week meal packed with flavour and different textures and topped off with a creamy, yoghurt tahini sauce and golden pieces of halloumi.
If you're roasting your vegetables from scratch, just cut any veggies you like into bite-sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper, and roast in a medium hot oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through and starting to crisp.
Ingredients
| 3 c | pre-cooked rice |
| 3 Tbsp | butter or olive oil |
| 1 tsp | cumin seeds |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | coriander seeds |
| 1 Tbsp | sesame seeds |
| Pinch | salt and pepper |
| As needed | pre-roasted vegetables |
| 1/4 c | dried dates, finely sliced |
| 1/4 c | almonds, roasted and chopped |
| 1/2 c | coriander, chopped |
| 1/2 | lemon, juice and zest |
| 400g | halloumi, sliced |
Yoghurt tahini sauce
| 4 Tbsp | Greek yoghurt |
| 2 Tbsp | tahini |
| 1 | clove garlic, crushed |
| 1/2 | lemon, juiced |
| Pinch | salt and pepper |
Garnish
Pickled red onions (See recipe here)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan bake. Once the oven has reached temperature, place the eggplant, capsicum, zucchini and onion onto large baking trays, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and starting to go crispy.
- Add 2 Tbsp of butter or olive oil to a large pan over medium heat, add the cumin seeds, ground cumin, coriander seeds, sesame seeds and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the spices and seeds are toasted and fragrant. Add the rice and stir well to coat it all in the buttery spice mix.
- Add the roasted vegetables, dates, and almonds. Remove from the heat to cool slightly before adding the coriander, lemon zest and juice; season to taste.
- Place the yoghurt, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper into a small bowl; mix well until the sauce is a smooth and creamy consistency.
- To cook the halloumi start by adding 1 Tbsp of butter to a large pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the halloumi. Cook for a couple of minutes on either side until golden brown but still soft in the centre.
- To assemble the dish, add the spiced rice to a large plate or platter, top with halloumi, dollop over yoghurt tahini sauce, and then scatter with pickled onions.
- Serves: 4
- Total time: 40mins
Laura Bedwell and Nikki Crerar are the owners of the weekly menu planning and meal prep service Assortment. Catch them on Instagram @assortment___ or head to assortmentfoods.com for more.
