My Mum's adapted Christmas cranberry rice!

I have neglected blogging for a couple of weeks now and this was when I wanted to go Christmas mad! I have so many recipes and meals that I have made the past few weeks but really haven't had the energy to post and today of all days, when I'm tired and full of cold, I've decided to post. It's only a week until Christmas and I'm so excited (I was excited mid September...) and the best part about Christmas for me (apart from being with family, friends etc...) is food! There's nothing better than eating your body weight in chocolate, turkey, roast potatoes, delicious puddings and bread sauce!

I've decided to start with this recipe as it is such an amazing Christmassy recipe. The cranberries give it a lovely sweetness whilst the parsley and onions make it taste like stuffing! It's a great accompaniment to some leftover turkey on Boxing Day. This recipe is my Mum's adaptation of a Nigella Lawson stuffing recipe in the cookery book Feast. It originally contained dried sour cherries but my Mum put cranberries in the recipe instead and it turned into a wonderful Christmassy side dish!

Serves 4

Ingredients

60g butter

2 onions, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

200g basmati rice (or enough for how many you are cooking for)

80g dried cranberries

500ml water

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a wide saucepan. Add the finely sliced garlic and onions to the melted butter and fry gently until the onions brown.

Add the rice and dried cranberries and stir well so the rice is coated in the buttery mixture.

Add the water and a sprinkling of salt and bring to the boil. Pop the lid on and cook at a very low heat for 15 minutes.

The rice will be cooked when the water has all been more or less absorbed. Then add the parsley and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Ta-da! Enjoy this Christmassy cranberry rice with some nice roast chicken or turkey!