Little Green Kitchen

Peanut and Sweet Potato Rice Tray

If you haven’t cooked rice on a tray in the oven before, say hello to a new family favourite! This one-tray dinner is simple to make, and tastes rich and sweet with a fresh kick from the ginger, lime and yoghurt. The method can be used for any traditional stew recipe and you’ll always end up with the best crispy bits towards the edges of the pan. We often serve this straight from the tray with a couple of forks and glasses on the table. It might seem a bit barbaric but, we promise you, the kids won’t complain and neither will the ones doing the dishes.

Serves 4  /  Active preparation: 15 minutes  /  Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 sweet potato (250 g/9 oz), peeled and roughly chopped

200 g (7 oz) tofu, cubed

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

200 g (7 oz/1 cup) wholegrain rice, rinsed and drained

1/2 x 400 g (14 oz) tin kidney beans, rinsed and drained

75 g (21/2 oz/1 cup) frozen green beans 15 g (½ oz) fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

3 tbsp peanut butter or hulled tahini 2 tomato purée (paste)

375 ml (12½ oz/1½ cups) good quality vegetable stock

250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) coconut milk sea salt, to taste

To serve

plain unsweetened Turkish or Greek yoghurt

roughly chopped toasted peanuts or toasted sesame seeds

fresh baby spinach leaves

lime wedges

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 4).

Spread the sweet potato, tofu and onion out in a baking tray (pan) along with the rice, kidney beans and green beans and set aside.

Put the ginger and garlic in a large bowl along with the rest of the ingredients, season to taste with salt and whisk together. Pour over the vegetables and rice and toss together, before spreading everything out evenly, making sure that the sweet potato and rice are submerged in the sauce. Cover with kitchen foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and discard the foil. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C (430°F/gas 8) and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato and rice are cooked and the sauce forms a crust around the edges of the pan.

Once cooked, remove from the oven, squeeze over one lime and serve hot topped with dollops of yoghurt, a scattering of peanuts and some spinach leaves and extra lime wedges.

Adult upgrade: Serve with a salad dressed in a tangy vinaigrette and some chutney on the side.

A helping hand: Let the kids dice the tofu, stir the sauce and toss the rice and vegetables in the sauce. That last bit is pretty messy and fun, so ideal for hooligans who like to get their hands dirty, literally.