Serves 2

Equipment

Nothing special!

Ingredients

Ginger Ale	350	millilitres
Water	60-ish	millilitres
Vegetable Stock Powder	1	teaspoon
Onion	0.5
Celery Tops or Parsley (optional)	1	tablespoon
Carrot	2	units
Black Rice	100	grams
Pickling Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar	4	tablespoons

Method

1. Finely dice half an onion. Place in a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil and begin to soften.
2. Add the rice.
3. Add the ginger ale. Don’t add the water just yet – save it to top up if and when the rice boils dry.
4. Bring to the boil. Add the stock powder.
5. The rice takes about 30 minutes to cook (or check your pack for specific timings). Dice the carrot and add this when you have 10-15 minutes of cooking time left.
6. Keep an eye on the rice – stirring frequently and turning down to a simmer. If it looks a little dry but isn’t cooked, add water or more ginger ale as you prefer.
7. Add a few tablespoons of vinegar during cooking from any pickles you have (I still had a jar of Pickled Courgettes) – or just some white wine vinegar if you don’t have anything else to hand. This counters the sweetness of the ginger ale.
8. Finely chop the leafy tops of a few stalks of celery, or some parsley if you have this to hand. Throw this in a few minutes before the rice is ready.
9. Test the rice – once soft, turn off the heat, pop the lid on and leave to infuse for a few minutes
10. Serve as a lunch on its own or as a side dish for any meat you prefer – I had mine with some BBQ style chicken and a few pickled veg for a sweet/tart contrast.