Rice with Tomatoes, Avocado and Black Olive

Tempo

25 min

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

4porções

Ingredientes

60ml olive oil, divided (2 tbsp for sautéing + extra for drizzling)

small onion, finely chopped

plump garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup

(about 270ml) basmati rice

2 cup

(about 470ml) vegetable stock (or chicken stock)

medium tomato, peeled, seeded and diced (or 1 cup canned organic diced tomatoes drained)

large green onions (cebolinha verde), chopped (whites and tender greens both)

30ml (2 tbsp) chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

80ml (about ⅓ cup) black olives, pitted (Niçoise or Kalamata; Brazilian black olives are fine)

small avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced

Modo de preparo

01**Sauté aromatics.** Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan over medium. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic; cook **1 minute** until just fragrant (don't brown).
02**Toast rice.** Add basmati rice. Stir for **2 minutes** to coat in oil and lightly toast.
03**Add stock.** Pour in vegetable stock; bring to a boil.
04**Cook.** Cover, reduce heat to low. **Simmer 15 minutes** until rice has absorbed all liquid and is tender. (Check at 13 min; basmati varies.)
05**Rest.** Off heat, leave covered another **5 minutes** to finish steaming.
06**Fluff and add cold ingredients.** Tip rice into a serving bowl. Fluff with a fork. Stir in: diced tomato, chopped green onions, parsley, salt and pepper.
07**Top.** Scatter pitted olives and diced avocado on top. Drizzle a little extra olive oil. Serve **warm**, not piping hot (the avocado wants to stay structured, not melt).

Rice with Tomatoes, Avocado and Black Olive

A simple basmati rice side dish dressed with diced tomato, avocado, parsley, green onion, and black olives. Serves as a fresh side for grilled meats; doubles as a light lunch on its own with a sprinkle of feta. Basically a hot rice salad.

Heat: 0/5. No chile.

Serving

A side to grilled meats, fish, or roast chicken. Also a light lunch on its own with a wedge of lemon and crumbled feta on top. Or pile in a wrap with hummus for a vegetarian wrap.

Notes

Peel the tomato. Bring a small pot of water to boil. Score an X on the tomato bottom. Drop in for 30 seconds; transfer to ice water. Skin slips off. (Skip if you're rushed — diced unpeeled is fine, just less elegant.)
Avocado timing. Add avocado right before serving, not earlier. It oxidizes and browns within 30 minutes.
Olive variety. Niçoise (small, rich) is best; Kalamata (Greek, salty) good; cheap Brazilian black olives fine. Avoid pitted-canned-American black olives (flavorless).
Variations:
- Add 100g crumbled feta after step 6 — Greek-leaning
- Add 1 cup cooked chickpeas — heartier, vegetarian-leaning main
- Swap basmati for jasmine — Asian-leaning
- Add a handful of pine nuts, toasted (toast 4 min in dry pan)
- Add chopped cucumber (a small handful) — fresher
Why not freezer-friendly: avocado oxidizes badly on freeze-thaw. Make this fresh; the rice base alone could be frozen but the dish is a 25-min recipe anyway.
Stock quality. Vegetable stock from a good cube or homemade. Generic supermarket cubes can be salty and one-dimensional; bump quality if you can.
Wine: crisp white (Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc) or rosé.