Whenever I cook rice, I make twice the amount, because the leftover rice is the perfect basis for the next meal. Also, cooled rice has built resistant starch which feeds our good gut bacteria.
Important: You don’t want to leave leftover cooked rice at room temperature for more than two hours. Put it in the fridge asap, otherwise a bacteria called bacillus cereus can become a problem. You want to cover it loosely in the fridge until it has cooled off, the put it in an airtight container and use it within the next 3 days. When using the leftover rice, you want to make sure it’s thoroughly heated, and don’t reheat it again. This article by Martha Stewart explains it very well.
Tomatoes and beans are things we always have on hand, so this a perfect quick meal with leftover rice or side dish.
How to turn this tomato rice into a main course
- sliced veggie sausages
- cilantro
- limes
- avocado
- vegan sour cream
- I really like to sprinkle the fruity-spicy Turkish paprika based seasoning Pul Biber over this dish, it fits very well. But don’t worry if you don’t have it, the rice is also great without it.
This way you easily create a Mexican and Turkish inspired fusion bowl.
I like black beans best, but any other beans work well for this tomato rice.
The tomato rice also works well as a filling for burritos or wraps. You can find my recipe for good homemade wraps here.
This recipe is gluten free when you get gluten free vegan sausages.
TOMATO BLACK BEAN RICE
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons plant oil
- 2 vegan sausages sliced
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon mild chili flakes
- 450 g cooked and cooled rice was about 200 g uncooked
- 1 can of cooked black beans
- 1 handfull of cilantro
- 1 avocado
- 1 lime
- 1 container of vegan sour cream
- pinch of Pul Biber optional
Instructions
- First, gather all your ingredients and prepare them in the right amounts. That makes it so much easier and more fun and you're less likely to forget anything.
- Sauté veggie sausage and onion in a large pan with plant oil at medium to high heat for about three minutes.
- Then add the tomatoes, garlic, and spices and stir well.
- Add the rice and beans and continue frying for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime, halve the avocado, remove the pit, and carefully peel off the skin. Then, slice it into lines from the outside, as shown in the photos.
- Wash the cilantro – a salad spinner works well for this – and pluck off the leaves, optionally chopping them. Halve the lime.
- Season the tomato rice to taste and serve with cilantro leaves, lime halves, avocado, and vegan sour cream.I also like to sprinkle fruity-spicy Turkish chili flakes (Pul Biber) on top – they complement the dish very well.
Other recipes with leftover rice:
