Red rice with roast aubergine
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Ingredients
150g red Camargue rice, 1
aubergine, passata tomatoes, oregano, coriander, salt, olive oil, 1 pint vegetable stock. |
Camargue red rice is the most recently discovered variety of rice and is very similar to those used in risotto like arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano because it's unmilled which gives it the sticky starch releasing quality. It's grown in in the wetlands of the Camargue in the South of France (hence the name). It has a dark reddy-brown colour with a really intense nutty taste so I complemented this with roast aubergine - the perfect combination.
1) Slice the top from the aubergine, slice it in half lengthways and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 200.
2) Unlike making risotto, you don't need to make it in three stages, adding a ladle at a time. It can be fully submerged and will still become sticky and create a creamy sauce. Stir the rice as it cooks, then add passata tomatoes and finely chopped oregano once the stock has cooked off.
3) Dice the cooked aubergine and stir it into the rice, then serve.
