Leek and Tomato Sauce for Rice
Ingredients
2 servings
- For the rice
- Rice 1 cup (180 g)
- Water for the rice 2 cups (400 ml)
- Salt to taste
- For the sauce
- Leeks 1
- Tomato 1 (large)
- Boiled water 0.5 cup (for the tomato) (100 ml)
- Garlic 1-2 cloves
- Olive oil 4-5 tbsp
- Lemon 0.5 (for the zest)
- Sugar 0.5 tsp (2 g)
- Nutmeg a knife tip
- Salt, black pepper to taste
- For serving
- Parsley and dill 3-4 sprigs
- Coarsely ground hot pepper a pinch
Step-by-step recipe
Rice
Rice with tomato sauce is best made with large, long-grain rice that stays nicely fluffy once cooked. The best choice is so-called parboiled rice, a high-quality steam-treated rice sold under that name. It is large, long-grained and pearly in colour.
Boil the rice in lightly salted water, using 1 cup of rice (180 g) to 2 cups of water (400 ml). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook covered for about 20 mins, until the water is absorbed. You should end up with fluffy, separate grains of rice.
Sauce
For the sauce, prepare the leeks, tomato and garlic, and the herbs for serving.
Flavor the oil: heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and flattened with the flat of a knife. As soon as the garlic starts to darken, throw it out. The garlic’s job is to flavor the olive oil so the sauce for rice does not have the particular smell of olive oil.
Fry the leeks with the zest: cut the leeks crosswise into 3-4 mm rounds and fry for 2-3 mins, stirring. Usually only the white part of a leek is used. For this sauce, though, you can use the stalk up to where the first outer leaf begins, as it is already fairly green inside. The leeks start to fry quickly.
Grate the zest from half a lemon and add it to the fried leeks. Take the saucepan off the heat while the tomato is prepared.
Make the tomato purée: scald the tomato with boiling water, peel it and remove the seeds. If the tomato is large, one is enough, but more tomato always makes the sauce tastier. Purée the tomato flesh with a blender, add salt, black pepper to taste, a knife tip of nutmeg and 0.5 tsp sugar (2 g). Thin the tomato with 0.5 cup of boiled water (100 ml).
Pour the tomato mixture over the leeks and simmer uncovered over medium heat for 7-8 mins. The sauce for the rice should be fairly thick.
Serving
Put the cooked rice on a plate, making a small well in the middle for the sauce. Spoon the tomato and leek sauce into the well. It is thick enough that it does not spread.
Sprinkle the tomato sauce with very finely chopped parsley and dill and, as I like to do, with a pinch of coarsely ground hot pepper.
Serve the sauce hot; the rice can be at room temperature. If you like, you can mix the rice on the plate. But it is much better not to mix the rice and the sauce, and to eat them separately, with fresh white bread.
Calories and macros
670 kcal
Serving ≈ 430 g
- Protein8 g5% of kcal
- Fat32 g44% of kcal
- Carbs84 g51% of kcal
100 g155 kcalProtein 1.9 gFat 7.5 gCarbs 19.5 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.