Wellness

Autumn Recipe: Brown Rice & Vegetable Pilaf

Skin can have a really hard time in autumn, recovering from a summer of too much sun and not enough water and suddenly facing central heating and rain and wind. As well as upping your skincare regime, make sure you pack your diet with skin-friendly, seasonal foods to stay looking and feeling great.

When it comes to having great skin, all year round, nothing is more important than eating and drinking right. If you’re on the search for an autumn recipe to help you achieve good skin, you’re in luck! I thought I’d share one of my Eat Beautiful recipes that is perfect for this time of year, and packed with seasonal ingredients to help promote a healthy complexion. This brown rice and vegetable pilaf is super tasty, and packed with nutrient-rich veg that will help give your skin a boost, including aubergine, spinach and garlic. Garlic is also great to include in your diet at this time of year to help keep colds at bay.

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Autumn Recipe: Brown Rice & Vegetable Pilaf

Serves 6-8
398 calories per serving

60ml coconut milk
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
Flesh of 1-4 pumpkin or butternut squash, diced
1 piece of tenderstem broccoli, diced
Handful of green beans, cut into short lengths
Handful of spinach
1 tbsp curry powder
1-4 tbsp ground turmeric
150g brown jasmine rice
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp miso paste
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamon pods
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and black pepper

Brown rice is so tasty that I’ll often eat it on its own or with some tamari and a bit of broccoli chucked in with it. It’s also great with other dishes, of course. I love cooking spicy dishes when the weather starts to turn, serving them with brown rice – they’re so satisfying, keeping you full for hours. I adore Indian food but sometimes it can be a bit greasy when it doesn’t have to be. The recipe I’ve included here is low in fat but still high in flavour and with other skin-feeding ingredients, such as aubergine, spinach and garlic. It would team well with a bowl of Tzatziki or Cucumber and Mango Salsa which you can find in my book Eat Beautiful.

  1. Heat the coconut milk in a large saucepan. Add the shallot, garlic and ginger and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes.
  2. Tip in the pumpkin and aubergine and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the broccoli, beans and spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes, adding a splash of water if needed, until all the vegetables have softened.
  3. Add the curry powder and turmeric, and stir in well, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Tip in the rice and add the soy sauce and miso paste, stirring in to combine. Pour in 250ml water and stir well, then add the cinnamon stick, cardamom and bay leaf.
  5. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
  6. Remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes with the lid on. Discard the cardamom pods, bay leaf and cinnamon stick before serving.

When the weather starts getting colder, you can’t beat a hearty pumpkin soup which is great for giving skin a much needed boost of luminosity for the new season.

You can find more great skin-friendly seasonal recipes in my book Eat Beautiful

MORE RECIPES: Kiwi Pancakes | Frittata | Fish Pie | Kale Soup

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