One Pot Cajun Rice & Beans - Waitrose Winter Harvest 2015 Recipe

A couple of weeks ago I picked up the latest free magazine from Waitrose, Winter Harvest 2015. It's got 75 recipes in it including a selection of "fuss-free supper" recipes which are particularly appealing to me (less time cooking, more time to knit, crochet & blog!).

I have already tried out a few of the recipes including the "Root Vegetable & Barley Casserole" & the "Vegetable Pad Thai" both of which went down well with my family but for our tastes could do with a little bit of tweaking if I were to make them again...which I probably would...I'll try to write them up if I get a chance.

Anyway, back to the subject of this post - the One Pot Cajun Rice & Beans meal.

There are many aspects of this recipe that appealed to me:

• The one pot aspect - when you're busy it's so much easier when you just have to bung everything into one pot and spend as little time as possible "tending" to the meal.
• Wholegrain rice - I have always been a big fan of brown rice for its taste (I know, a lot of people hate the taste...which is why you should try this recipe to change your mind!) and health benefits. The fibre is great for your intestinal health and it's not as glycemic as white rice with more nutrients too.
• Beans! I love beans because they are full of protein, fibre and other goodies....and my kids like them.
• Sweetcorn - I am not a big fan of sweetcorn (maize) but my kids love it.
• Vegetable content - means I don't need to prepare a separate side dish of veg, unless I really want to. I always like to have fresh vegetables or salad with every meal.
• Taste - the combination of ingredients and spices means it should taste good.
• Cost - the ingredients for this meal are not expensive (apart from the inclusion of a tub of Waitrose ready made chargrilled vegetable soup, which I thought was a bit weird but probably a marketing ploy to shift a few from the shop fridges). Overall this is a pretty good budget dish for a midweek family meal.
• Low fat

I made this recipe more or less exactly as per the magazine, I've put my change in brackets:

Waitrose One-Pot Cajun Rice & Beans
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
250g Brown Basmati & Wild Rice (I just used Wholegrain Basmati)
600g tub Waitrose Chargrilled Mediterranean Vegetable Soup
400g parsnips, peeled and diced
195g can sweetcorn, drained
400g kidney beans, drained and rinsed
500g vegetable stock

Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the leeks for 2-3 minutes. Add the Cajun seasoning and rice and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the soup, parsnips, sweetcorn, kidney beans and a little of the stock, then cover and cook gently for 35-40 minutes, occasionally adding extra stock until the rice is tender. Season to taste before serving.

Verdict

I needed to add all the stock because the rice really soaked it up. I was worried that this might be a bit dry but it was fine. When it was done it didn't actually look that appetising - the vegetables from the soup and the leeks had disintegrated and were barely discernible. The sweetcorn was also a bit overcooked and had lost some of its colour. However, it did taste pretty good and I was amazed that both my kids and my OH liked it. My oldest son, who has had a bit of a lifelong grudge against me feeding him wholegrain rice, asked for seconds! That's why I recommend this as a good recipe for those that are not keen on wholegrain rice - the rice really absorbs the flavours of the dish. It does seem like you've made a ton of the stuff at first because the rice really expands (make sure you use a big enough pan) but in terms of serving size, the recipe guideline of 4-6 servings was spot on; I had two serving left.These two servings were eaten for lunch the next day - I fried up the rice in a pan with some olive oil and drizzled over a little bit of balsamic vinegar and it was a very tasty lunchtime meal and kept me feeling full for a long  time. The only part of the recipe I struggled with was the fact that this is supposed to be a complete meal. I'm afraid my family wouldn't be satisfied with this as their dinner so I did serve sausages with it which weren't too much of an additional hassle to cook up.

Modifications

I will make this again because it's such an easy, healthy and filling meal but I would make some changes:

1. I wouldn't use the soup again as it was an unnecessary additional cost. I would just use a tin of chopped tomatoes and extra vegetable stock, Maybe add some diced courgettes for a bit of extra colour or maybe even some frozen peas.
2. I'd add the kidney beans and sweetcorn in nearer the end of the cooking time because they are already cooked and just need warming through and I think it will help preserve their bright colours and make the dish look more attractive.