Spinach and Brown Rice Gratin

Although most people love rice, there are a few oddballs like me, who don’t! As a kid, I used to try to hide the rice from my plate to fool my parents into believing that I ate it all…but I don’t think that worked very well. Anyway, knowing the health benefits of rice, I do try to include it in my meals – but that requires a little bit of creativity :)

Heres a recipe for a brown rice - spinach gratin, which tastes great and is nutritious. Its a good way to use leftover rice and is also very easy to modify to include different veggies according to your taste. I only had bell peppers at home, so that’s what I used, but you can add peas, corn, olives, carrots etc.

Recipe modified from: http://www.101cookbooks.com

Ingredients

2 cups cooked brown rice (white rice will work as well)

1.5 cups chopped spinach

1 small green pepper chopped

1/2 medium onion chopped

2 eggs (I used egg beaters)

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (or Parmesam)

1/4 cup toasted almond slices (or chopped walnuts)

salt to taste

optional: 1/2 cup crumbled tofu

Preheat oven to 400 F. Set the rack in the top third of the oven. Grease a 9 inch round baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except eggs and 1/4 cup cheese. Adjust seasoning; add some herbs, spices if you like. Beat eggs well in a separate bowl and fold into the rice mixture. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and top it with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 25-30 min or until the rice is set and the cheese on top is golden. Remove from oven and serve warm.

~Gayatri