Tuna, Tomato and Rice Bake

Comfort Food! As soon as the weather turns cool my mind turns to fires and PJs and casseroles, risottos and puddings. But so often I find that they have a lot of fussy chopping and stirring involved, and on the days where you get home at 6.30pm and want a warm squishy dinner with minimal annoyance or cleaning up those winter warmers are all a bit much.

Today I tested a recipe I had cut out of some magazine or another years ago and had never tried out - and it turned out to be just wonderful. A store cupboard secret, it is all tins and simplicity but still gives your tummy that lovely warm feeling. I've tweaked it a bit to make it a bit more grown up!

Chop an onion and soften in a little oil, stir through one cup of arborio rice until coated and then add a 425g tin of tuna (Sirena is always my pick but any would do), a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste and one cup of white wine - this could be water if you don't have wine nearby. I also added lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon plus a handful of chopped parsley. Cover with a cup of tasty cheese.

Put it in a casserole dish and stick in a 170C oven for an hour - check the rice is tender before you serve.

I absolutely adored snuggling up with a warm bowl of this in front of the TV. You could easily prepare the night before and pop it in the oven after work.

It might not be true Stepford glamour but my excuse is that proper Stepford wives didn't work full time - plus I'm not mechanical, and we all need a throw together stand-by :)