Tomato and Cheese Rice

This is a relatively simple recipe from one of my random vegetarian cookbooks. It is basically a pasta bake but with rice, so nice if you're gluten free and fancy a comforting dish. The original recipe called for peppers, but I didn't have any so I substituted for green beans and sweetcorn; the dish would work with any mixed veg you prefer. The original recipe called for half a tin of tomatoes, which annoyed me, so I adjusted it and tried to adjust the stock as well. It came out ok, so my conversions must have been fine...

Serve 3 - 4

Ingredients

300g rice

1 onion

2 - 3 cloves garlic

2 red peppers, chopped / 300g mixed vegetables of choice (frozen will do fine)
1 1/2 pints /  710ml stock
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
100g mature cheddar cheese or other strong flavoured cheese

Dried herbs (optional, to taste); I used basil, oregano and parsley but any will do

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F / gas mark 4

1. Chop onion and crush garlic, and fry in oil in an oven proof dish until softened. If you don't have an oven proof pan, just cook in a regular pan and transfer to an oven proof dish afterwards.

2. Add vegetables and fry for two minutes on a medium heat.

3. Add the rice and fry for a couple of minutes until translucent.

4. Add stock and tins of tomato, season with salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. 

5. Add dried herbs, stir, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

6. Top with grated cheese and bake in oven for 30 minutes.