Citrus Mexican Rice

The classic combination of lime, fresh coriander (cilantro) and tomatoes conjures up memories of my time in Mexico, every beachside bar or cafe seems to have their own speciality based around these key ingredients. Often served as a side to fresh fish barbequed whole with the sun beating down and a tequila cocktail not too far away!

This can work equally well with or without the chicken, if making a vegetarian version I would suggest adding some stock to the cooking water with the rice to boost the flavour.

A great accompaniment to meat or fish also as a side to burritos or enchiladas.

Serves 2

100g brown rice

1 Chicken Breast (optional)

1 Onion (sliced)

1 Avocado (peeled and sliced)

A Few Cherry Tomatoes

Lime juice (either fresh or from a bottle)

A small bunch of Fresh Coriander (chopped)

1 Tbsp Rapeseed (Canola) Oil

Salt and Black Pepper

Put the rice on to cook by placing in a saucepan with enough water to cover and salt to taste. Brown rice can take up to 40 minutes to cook so do this before any preparation to save time.

Next slice the chicken breast into strips and fry on a moderate heat in a small amount of rapeseed oil to seal and give some colour and caramelised taste, remove from the pan and keep to one side.

Reduce the heat and scrape any caramelised residue off the base of the pan to prevent burning, sauté the sliced onion, you may need a little more oil at this stage . Keep the temperature low and allow the onion to sweat.

Meanwhile halve the tomatoes and peel and slice the avocado, dowse the avocado with the lime juice as soon as possible after removing the skin to prevent browning.

Chop the coriander, retain a few attractive leaves as a garnish but the remainder including the stalks can be chopped and used in the dish.

When the onion is translucent, return the chicken to the pan along with the tomatoes and stir to heat through.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix in the rice and the chopped coriander stalks.

At the last minute, add the avocado and stir through.

Garnish with the fresh coriander leaves and serve.