the 20 minute meal

This is the meal I find myself cooking at least once a week because it is quick, nutritious, tasty and EASY. It is full of protein and good, complex carbs and you can include pretty much whatever takes your fancy.

Okay, so the only reason this meal takes 20 minutes instead of 10 or 15 is because brown rice takes about that long to cook slowly and softly. But if you have rice on hand, or would prefer to replace it with canned lentils or beans, this meal is on the table theoretically in under five minutes...

Tonight's meal is made using the ingredients below, but you could also make it with steamed green beans, potatoes, cannellini beans, lentils, quinoa, roast pumpkin, poached chicken - the list goes on :)

Ingredients:

• 1 can of good quality tuna
• 1 medium-large cucumber, cubed
• 2 medium tomatoes, cubed
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
• 2 Tb of olive oil (i use half extra virgin, half lime)
• 2 Tb pomegranate
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup of cooked brown rice
• Haloumi, fried to perfection

Cold ingredients

pomegranate suckers

While cooking the brown rice (in a pot on low heat - it will burn in a rice cooker!) I cube and mix all cold ingredients in a bowl - tuna, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, pomegranate.  I drain the oil out from the tuna to add my own but if you decide to keep the oil, you might not even need extra olive oil.

I haven't used pomegranate before and it is a mean thing to tap out of its shell but it is so tasty that it is worth my while. I tapped out each and every mean sucker inside (except around 1/8th that fell on the floor....)

Just before the rice is cooked, I lightly fry the haloumi. Once done, I mix the hot ingredients with the cold and voila - le dîner!

If adding canned legumes, I will add these to the pot of rice to heat for a bit - I like this salad served warm. The unhealthiest it gets is when I decide to have 5 slices of haloumi instead of 3...


xx emmsy