Who says that microwave meals are crap? This is a really good recipe for healthy, tasty and filling food - it’s easy to prepare, quick to cook, dries well and rehydrates fast. It’s one that I’ve adapted from the BBC Good Food magazine, just thought that I would mention that before Aunty Beeb and her publishers come knocking on the door brandishing writs! Anyway, ingredients are as follows:
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 stock cube (veg or fish)
- 850ml / 1.5 pints boiling water
- 250g / 9 oz risotto rice (risotto, arborio and carnaroli are best, long-grain will do at a push but the results aren’t as good, any other rice just doesn’t work)
- 250g / 9 oz smoked fish, skinned and cut into chunks (cod or haddock are recommended, but I’ve tried pollack and mackerel and they work too, I’ve yet to try a mix of fish but that’s on the cards)
- 1 large cupful of frozen peas
- large knob of butter
- 1 pinch of salt (optional)
- Some freshly-ground black pepper (optional)
Nuke it as follows:
Put the onion and the garlic in a large microwaveable bowl, add the stock cube and ½ a pint of boiling water. Stir it up, cover it (cling-film is OK for this, or use a casserole dish with a lid) then microwave it on High for 3 minutes.
Stir in the rice and another ½ a pint of boiling water, cover it again then microwave it on High for another 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.
Stir in the fish, the frozen peas and the last ½ pint of boiling water, cover it again then microwave it on High for another 4 minutes.
Check that the rice is cooked (nice and soft), if it isn’t, another 1 minute of cooking should sort it out.
Leave the bowl to stand for 1-2 minutes for the liquid to be absorbed, then stir in the butter. Add the salt and pepper if desired, and stir it all up.
You should dehydrate it immediately to prevent bacterial growth in the rice. Drying usually takes about 8 hours. After you’ve bagged it, freeze it.
According to the blurb, this lot makes 4 servings as a standard meal. I divvy it up to make 3 x 125g bagged meals.
Approximate dietary content for the whole lot:
1292 kcalories, 80g protein, carbs 224g, fat 16g, satfat 8g, fibre 12g, salt 12.4g.
Thanks for this recipe, I've made up a batch today and its half way through drying.
Thanks for the feedback, BW.
I trust that you’ve sampled your creation - filling, isn’t it? And there’s minimal washing-up to do afterwards, so that’s a bonus 🙂
A tasty meal for sure. Only problem is my wife liked the taste and said that I can cook it for a quick and easy meal in the week!!.
Its nice to had a different meal to dehydrate, I may try the turkey one next week.
This looks brilliant - I am definitely taking this on my trip this summer! How do you rehydrate this? In a freezer bag and cozy?
How much water per serving?
Thanks!
Chris
Hi Chris
Well, I make a note of how much water is lost per serving during dehydration, then add that amount of boiling water to the food bag, zip it up and stick it in my pocket if I’m on the move, or in one of my boots if I’m in the tent. Takes about 10 minutes to rehydrate like that, if I need it to be ready quicker it will stand a couple of minutes being boiled-in-the-bag, which means I can use the boiled water for a cuppa.
Let me know how you get on with it, and if you make any subtle changes which improve it.
Stef
Well, I made it (I added a glass of dry vermouth, which I stole from a Jamie Oliver risotto recipe I tried last year).
Sadly, not much made it into the dehydrator, even though I made double quantity. Thanks for a fantastic recipe - very high quality food for so little work!
Now I need to make another batch for the dehydrator 😉
Chris
Glad you liked it, Chris.
Hmmm… vermouth… maybe I’ll try something similar next time 🙂