LIME CORIANDER PANEER WITH WILD RICE

Lime coriander paneer with wild rice is an exotic, delicately flavoured rice dish topped with lime and coriander paneer (cottage cheese). Lightly steamed or roasted vegetables are all you need to eat with it. Delicious! Packs of ready-prepared mixed vegetables such as mange-touts, baby corn and asparagus tips make perfect accompaniments to main this dish – they just need to be quickly roasted, steamed, microwaved or boiled. In this recipe, I have roasted asparagus and bell peppers, you can try any vegetables of your choice. Also, paneer in this lime coriander paneer with wild rice recipe can be substituted with prawns, chicken or tofu. I have tried this dish with prawns and tofu also, both are delectable. Wild rice can be cooked like any other rice varieties.

Now, let’s get to the ingredients and the recipe ….

Ingredients

For the roasted asparagus and pepper

• 6 Asparagus spears,
• ½ Red pepper, sliced
• 1 tbsp. Olive oil
• ½ tsp Sesame oil
• ½ Lime, zest only

For the lime and coriander paneer

• 1 Garlic clove, peeled
• 1 small Shallot
• ½ Red pepper
• ½ Red Chilli, deseeded
• 4cm chopped Lemongrass
• ½ medium Lemon, zest only
• 1 tbsp. Lemon juice
• 40ml Rapeseed oil
• A small bunch Coriander leaves and the stalks,
• Small sprig of Parsley
• 2 Mint leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 250g Paneer or Cottage Cheese
• Basmati & wild rice, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to garnish

Method

• For the asparagus and red pepper, preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Place the oils, lime zest and seasoning in a bowl and add the asparagus and red pepper. Mix well and then tip out on to a baking tray. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes, turning the spears over from time to time.
• For the paneer, place the garlic, shallot, red pepper, chilli, lemongrass, lemon zest and juice, oil, coriander leaves and stalks, parsley and the mint leaves into a food processor and blend, keeping a little texture in the peppers. Season with salt. Pour this over the paneer and leave for 10 minutes.
• Preheat a pan to a high heat, place the marinated paneer (leaving the marinade in the bowl) into the pan and cook for 1 minute depending on the size before turning over. Set aside, then add the marinade to the pan, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
• Place the wild rice on serving plates, top with the roasted asparagus and red pepper and then add the chargrilled paneer on top. Spoon over the cooked marinade. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve immediately.