Directions

In skillet, brown sausage meat over medium-high heat, breaking meat into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside.

Add oil to same skillet and cook onion and celery until onion is translucent and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add red pepper, garlic, thyme, rosemary, paprika, salt and pepper and stir for one minute. Stir in tomato paste and brown rice, cook until rice coated with tomato and oil mixture, about one minute. Stir in wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add chicken broth and sausage and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat but keep covered for another 15 minutes. Fluff with fork and gently stir in almonds, fresh chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Serve this as a side dish or let cool completely and use it to stuff pork, chicken, lamb or turkey.

Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING: about 250 cal, 6 g pro, 9 g total fat (2 g sat fat), 33 g carb, 3 g fibre, 10 mg chol, 320 mg sodium. %RDI: iron 8%, calcium 4%, vit A 20%, vit C 60%

Tip: This dish can also be spread into a casserole and sprinkled with some crumbled goat cheese feta and baked until crisp on the top.