No Meat Cook Up Rice 

In Guyana, Cook-up Rice, a one pot rice dish is known to be the must have dish on Old Year’s Night (New Year’s Eve). Traditionally meat such as pork, lamb or beef is used in the dish as well as a range of vegetables. This recipe is a vegetarian option.

Ingredients

• 300g/10½oz long grain rice  
• 1 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil
• 2–3 garlic cloves
• 1 onion finely chopped.
• 1 tsp grated ginger  
• 1 x 400g/14oz tin cooked pigeon peas aka gungo peas, (black-eyed peas) or red kidney beans), drained.
• 200g/7oz pumpkin or seasonal squash, peeled and chopped into chunks.
• 2 carrots peeled and cubed.
• 2 okra, sliced
• 150g / 5½oz baby spinach 
• 1 tin of coconut milk 
• few sprigs thyme 
• 1 chilli scotch bonnet finely chopped.
• 2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 15g/½oz coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. “wash” the rice.  Tip the rice into a bowl and rinse with cold water. Repeat two- or three-times until the water is clear. Drain, then set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat stir in the garlic, onion, and ginger.
3. Add the drained peas, pumpkin, carrots, okra and baby spinach. Mix well to make sure the vegetables don’t stick to the pan.
4. Before the spinach starts to wilt, add 250ml/9fl oz water with the coconut milk, thyme sprigs and Scotch bonnet. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
5. Season with the salt and pepper, then add the rice. Stir until everything is mixed and the veg is evenly distributed throughout the rice. Reduce the heat to low, cover and leave to simmer for 20 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated.
6. Turn off the heat and leave the pan covered for a further 20 minutes. The steam will finish cooking the rice.
7. Scatter over the roughly chopped coriander and serve.

A suggestion.

If you would like less heat. leave the scotch bonnet chilli whole instead of chopping up.