Tomato and pepper rice with peas

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 150 g long grain rice
• 150 ml chicken stock
• 1 can of tomatoes, 400 g
• 150 g peas
• 1 bell pepper(s), red
• 1 onion(s), red
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp thyme, dried
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

a wonderful side dish to anything grilled or fried

First, peel the onions and garlic and dice them into small cubes. Wash the bell pepper, removing the core and white membranes, then cut the pepper into 1 cm cubes. Collect the juice from the canned tomatoes in a bowl. Remove the stems and any remaining skin from the tomatoes. Then dice the tomatoes and add them to the bowl with the tomato juice. Place the garlic and onions in a saucepan with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat; you don’t want them to brown. After about 5 minutes, add the sugar, tomato paste, and rice to the pan and sauté for another 5 minutes. Then deglaze everything with the chicken stock. Add the tomatoes, juice, and paprika to the pan. Add the thyme and salt, stir, and simmer on low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally. If you can’t get fresh peas, frozen peas are a good alternative. Here are the cooking times for both versions: After 20 minutes of cooking, add frozen peas with the lid closed and simmer for another 15 minutes. After 30 minutes of cooking, add fresh peas with the lid closed and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season the rice again and serve! Cooking times may vary depending on the type of rice, so be sure to taste it every now and then. I use Oryza Ideal Rice (long grain rice) for this recipe, and the cooking times are based on that.