Lemon chickpea rice
Step 1 of 5
Cut 300g zucchini into 1.5cm cubes, 150g carrots into 5mm dice and 100g onions into 5mm dice. Heat 20ml olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook carrot and onion for 5 minutes, then add zucchini and cook for 6–8 minutes until tender with golden edges. Spread onto two pans if liquid pools.
Kitchen timer
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Check ingredient quantities
A lemony chickpea and zucchini skillet keeps the vegetables separate from freshly cooked rice.
Ingredients
- Rice (dry)160g
- Chickpeas (drained)240g
- Zucchini (raw)300g
- Carrots (raw)150g
- Onions (raw)100g
- Olive oil (raw)20ml
- Lemon juice (raw)20ml
- Salt (dry)3g
- Black pepper (dry)1g
- Recipe water (raw)300ml
Method
- Cut 300g zucchini into 1.5cm cubes, 150g carrots into 5mm dice and 100g onions into 5mm dice. Heat 20ml olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook carrot and onion for 5 minutes, then add zucchini and cook for 6–8 minutes until tender with golden edges. Spread onto two pans if liquid pools.
- Add 240g chickpeas, 3g salt and 1g black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring until the chickpeas steam throughout. If the pan is dry, loosen with a little processing water.
- With two burners, cook this rice while making the topping; on one burner finish the topping first and allow extra time. Rinse 160g rice and cook with 300ml recipe water in a covered saucepan according to the packet ratio. Bring to a boil, then cook on low for 12–18 minutes until tender. Add a little boiling processing water if hard in the centre, then rest off the heat for 5 minutes.
- Stir 20ml lemon juice through the hot chickpea topping just before serving. Fluff the rice and divide the topping over it.
- The displayed quantities already match your selected servings. For 1 or 2 servings, use a smaller pan and check early; keep the stated cut sizes. For 4 servings use a broad pan or uncrowded trays; for 8 split every ingredient evenly into two 4-serving batches (more if the pan or pot capacity requires it). Keep pans below 80% full and vegetables in one layer when browning. Repeat the cooking and doneness checks for each batch; elapsed time increases for sequential batches. Serve promptly. Cool any extra cooked food in shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours, or one hour above 32°C. Keep the fridge at 4°C or below. Reheat cooked leftovers evenly to 74°C, checking several places with a food thermometer. Keep raw garnishes and cold yogurt or tahini sauces separate and use them cold within their label limits. For this planner, refrigerate cooked rice for at most 24 hours or freeze promptly on the preparation day after rapid cooling in shallow containers. This 24-hour rice limit is a conservative product choice, not a USDA-specific rice rule. Reheat the cooked portion evenly to 74°C with a thermometer.