Oriental lemon rice with spinach, peppers, raisins and almond-chili topping

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• ½ organic lemon(s)
• 30 ml lemon juice
• 6 g salt
• 400 g rice, e.g. B. Basmati rice
• 500 g baby spinach, fresh
• 280 g pointed peppers, red
• 120 g raisins or sultanas
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 80 g puree (lemon-salt puree)
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 30 g almond flakes
• 3 chili peppers, green, medium hot
• 40 g panko
• 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1 tsp mint, dried

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

vegan

First, make the lemon and salt puree. Wash the organic lemon, trim the ends, and slice the rest into thin slices. Remove the seeds from the slices. Place the slices in a saucepan with the lemon juice and salt and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes with the lid on and on low heat until the peel softens. Blend everything in a blender until puree-like. Wash and drain the spinach. Wash the bell peppers, remove the stems, seeds, and white inner membranes, and cut into strips. Prepare the chili peppers in the same way. Peel and chop the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan and sauté the chopped garlic with the coriander seeds and cumin seeds for about 4 minutes over medium to high heat. The garlic should not brown. Then add the bell peppers and sauté for another 4 minutes over the same heat. Add the raisins and pour in the vegetable stock. Bring everything to a boil, then sprinkle in the rice and spread it evenly. Cover and cook the rice over low to medium heat for about 12 minutes, until the liquid has almost been absorbed by the rice and the rice is almost tender. Then add the amount of lemon and salt puree specified in the recipe and the spinach. Stir in the spinach over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes until it has wilted. Meanwhile, dry-roast the flaked almonds and chili pieces in a non-stick pan for about 3 minutes. Mix the panko with the smoked paprika and add everything to the pan with the almonds and chili, and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes until lightly browned. Finally, sprinkle everything with mint. When serving, spread the topping over the dish as desired or serve it with the dish. Notes and tips: The leftover lemon and salt puree can easily be frozen or stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for at least 1 week. You can also make more puree for other purposes and use it whenever an oriental recipe calls for salted lemons. This puree is a quick and easy alternative to pickled salted lemons, which need several days to soften. Furthermore, the puree contains less salt than typical pickled salted lemons, and you don’t have to cut the lemon peel for later use. If you don’t have whole coriander or cumin seeds, but only ground powder, don’t heat the spices in the oil at the beginning, but add both to the pan with the lemon-salt puree towards the end. However, the cumin seeds and coriander seeds impart much more complex flavors than powder, also due to the heating in oil. This serving size is calculated as a main course without any other ingredients. If you like meat, roast chicken fillet is the best option.