Category Archives: Rice dishes

Kale & Red Pepper Bites

These are fantastic little crispy bites, with whole grains, lentils, kale, onion, red pepper, and flavoured with Italian herbs. The grain and lentils all cook together into a fabulously textured kind of porridge which is an amazing base to make burgers, and sausages with.    Perfect for parties, lunchboxes or just snacks to keep in the fridge when hunger strikes!

Kale and Red Pepper Bites2

The other ingredients are then just stirred in and I used a mini muffin tray for easily shaped and uniform results.

mini muffin tray

Impossible to eat just one!  We love them topped with hummus and a red pepper relish.

Kale and Red Pepper Bites

Kale & Red Pepper Bites
 
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Crispy and delicious, this little bites are perfect party or lunchbox items
Author:
Serves: 30-34
Ingredients
  • ½ cup medium grain brown rice
  • ¼ cup millet
  • ¼ cup split red lentils
  • ¼ cup quinoa
  • 1 box of frozen kale
  • 1 red capsicum, finely diced
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 1 tsp Italian dried herb mix
  • ½ tsp garlic granules
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium tamari / soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of tahini - optional
  • juice of half a lemon
  • zest of a whole lemon
  • ¼ cup ground almonds - optional (makes them more crispy but you can leave out for school lunchboxes).
  • Equipment: mini 24-cup muffin pan
  • Sesame seeds - optional
Instructions
  1. Rinse the grains and lentils in a fine sieve under running water for a couple of minutes.
  2. Place them in a rice cooker (or saucepan - but you may need to add an extra half a cup of water before the grains are fully cooked, depending on how tight fitting the lid is) with 3 cups of water, and put it on to cook.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. / 375 Fahrenheit.
  4. Meanwhile, put the kale into a sieve over (in which the sieve will be enclosed) and cover in boiling water.
  5. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat, and "fry" the capsicum and onion, adding a splash of water or stock to stop them sticking. Do not allow to get too moist. Once softened after a few minutes, add the herbs and garlic. Cook until the moisture has evaporated out and the vegetables are fairly dry but not sticking to the pan.
  6. Drain the kale, and squeeze all the water out of it with your hands - I find it easiest to do this in 3 or 4 small handfuls, and set aside.
  7. Once the grains are cooked, (they should be fairly dry also) tip them into a large bowl, and tip in the contents of the frying pan. Sprinkle in the kale, breaking up any lumps, then add the nutritional yeast, tamari, tahini, lemon, zest & almonds and thoroughly mix (clean hands are best for this!).
  8. Sprinkle some sesame seeds if using into the bottom of each muffin hole, then pack the mixture firmly on top, pushing down to ensure no air pockets which will stop them coming out cleanly. Sprinkle some more sesame seeds on top.
  9. Pop into the top of the oven for 20 minutes. Take out, allow to sit for 5 minutes then invert the tray onto a cooling rack, making sure they all come out (you might need to loosen stubborn ones around the side with a plastic knife), place that on top of a baking tray and then pop back in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up the bottoms.
  10. My mixture made 34, so you can use the tray again to use up the mixture for another 6-10 bites.

 

Cauliflower, Coriander & Orange Pilaf

 

Cauliflower Coriander and Orange Pilaf

Cauliflower Coriander and Orange Pilaf

Cauliflower, Coriander & Orange Pilaf
 
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Recipe type: Rice dish
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups rice & lentil mix
  • ¼ cup quinoa
  • 1 tsp "Chicken Style" stock powder
  • 7 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 green (or other colour) capsicum, diced
  • 1 medium cauliflower, separated into florets
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • zest and juice of a large orange
  • 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce / tamari
  • 1 bunch of coriander, chopped
  • Dessicated coconut - garnish
Instructions
  1. Put your rice, lentils and quinoa on to cook (same pot). I use a rice cooker and added 3 cups of water and 1 tsp of chicken style stock powder. You may need a little more water if you're using a lidded saucepan.
  2. Meanwhile, toast your pine nuts and chop / prepare all the other ingredients
  3. Once your grains and lentils are cooked, in a large frying pan or wok which has a lid, stir "fry" the onion and capsicum for a couple of minutes. Add the ground coriander and move it around until you can smell it toasting.
  4. Add the cauliflower florets, half a cup of water and cover for 5 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
  5. In a large bowl, tip your cooked grains & lentils, the cauliflower mixture, the orange zest and juice, soy sauce and toasted pine nuts and stir well to combine.
  6. Dish up and top with the chopped coriander, and coconut if desired.

 

Incan Salad

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South American deliciousness in Incan Salad: Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Rice, Corn and Beans with an avocado, lime and chilli sauce. Sprinkled with some spring onion greens, chopped coriander leaves and hemp seeds. This one will keep you full for hours!

Incan Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: South American
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups or 300g cooked quinoa (about ½ cup dry)
  • 2 cups or 360g cooked short grain brown rice (about ¾ cup dried)
  • 2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
  • 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 180g cooked sweet potato cubes (2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, diced, roasted)
  • Garnish (optional):
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • small bunch of coriander, chopped
  • hemp seeds to garnish - optional
  • Dressing:
  • 1 medium avocado (about 220g of flesh)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 75ml lime juice
  • 100 ml water
  • 1 tsp semi dried chopped chillies (Gourmet Garden brand) - or to taste
  • 1 heaping teaspoon rice malt syrup or other liquid sweetener
  • zest of a lime
Instructions
  1. To make this salad really easy to throw together, peel, dice and roast your sweet potato the night before or earlier in the day, then refrigerate.
  2. You could also cook your grains too and refrigerate so you don't need to wait for your grains to chill before assembling the salad. You can also leave out the rice altogether and double the quinoa but as it's quite an expensive ingredient this does help to cut the cost!
  3. You can cook brown rice and quinoa together in a rice cooker, just combine the ½ cup quinoa and ¾ cup dried grains with 2 cups water.
  4. Make the dressing by blitzing all ingredients apart from the lime zest in a blender, or jug and a stick blender, or a fork and some elbow grease will do the same job. Stir in the lime zest, taste and adjust the salt / lime juice etc to your taste. It should be quite tart to contrast with the sweetness from the potato.
  5. In a very large bowl, combine the rice, quinoa, sweet potato, beans, corn and cubes of potato and combine well. Stir through the onions and coriander - or leave in bowls if you have sensitive taste buds around the table so everyone can add their own.
  6. Serve with the sauce and hemp seeds to sprinkle if liked.

 

 

Sushi Brown Rice Salad

Sushi Brown RIce Salad

All the taste of a nori roll without the rolling!  Crunchy veg, marinated tofu, edamame beans and avocado, mixed with strips of nori, sesame seeds, dressed with a sushi seasoning and soy sauce.  If you love sushi you’ll love this.

Sushi Brown Rice Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Japanese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 250 grams brown rice
  • 2 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 1 large cucumber, deseeded, finely diced
  • 1 red capsicum, finely diced
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 1 cup blanched, podded edamame beans
  • 200g marinated Japanese flavour tofu, cut into small dice
  • nori seaweed sheets, cut into small squares or strips
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • sushi seasoning - vinegar, sugar, mirin blend (I use Obento brand, from the supermarket, or Asian supermarkets would stock a range)
  • soy sauce or tamari
  • radish - optional, finely diced
  • pickled ginger, wasabi, soy sauce - to serve as required
Instructions
  1. Whilst your rice is cooking, finely dice all the crunchy vegetables (and add whatever others you like) and put set aside. Blanch and pod your edamame beans, and dice the avocado. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry non stick pan, until golden brown.
  2. Once your rice is cooked, tip in to a large bowl and sprinkle generously with the sushi seasoning mix, stirring well to thoroughly incorporate. Taste and add more as required. I used about 8 tablespoons. Add tamari or soy sauce to taste. Once the rice is at room temperature, stir in as much of the vegetable mix as you like, portion out into your serving bowls and decorate the tops with the nori, avocado, edamame beans and sesame. Allow it to cool slightly
  3. Serve alongside pickled ginger, wasabi and extra tamari / soy sauce as desired.

Mexican Burrito Bowl

I do love a bowl – when you lay all your ingredients out in the bowl to look pretty, rather than just mix them all together.  This is a simplified chilli recipe which takes just 30 mins so you can put your rice on, chop the tomatoes for your salsa and mash some avocado whilst it simmers.  Some sweetcorn is also nice on the side if you  have some in the freezer or a can in the cupboard, to add some more colour to the plate.  Have hot sauce on the side so those chilli addicts can add their own, keeping this quite mild for little mouths. Leave the chilli out all together if you like.

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Mexican Burrito Bowl
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 160g long grain brown rice
  • 2 small/ medium brown onions (180g chopped weight)
  • 1 small green capsicum (180g " " )
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium stick celery (80g " " )
  • 1 slightly heaped tsp ground cumin
  • 1 slightly heaped tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes (can reduce to be really mild)
  • 1 tsp beef style stock powder
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes
  • ½ cup water
  • 1.5 - 2 cans drained kidney beans (depends how thick you like it!)
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • ½ tablespoon maple syrup
  • To Serve:
  • Salsa:
  • 300 g baby tomatoes
  • ½ bunch coriander
  • ½ a red onion,
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Guacamole:
  • 1 large avocadoes: lime / lemon juice / salt.
  • Sweetcorn: -
  • Allow 75g per person: - defrost frozen corn / or pour boiling water over it or simmer for a minute.
  • Or alternatively, serve with corn on the cob.
Instructions
  1. Put your rice on to cook.
  2. Dice the onion, capsicum, celery and crush or grate the garlic.
  3. Add to a warmed large casserole dish or saucepan and stir for a few minutes until softening, adding a tiny splash of water to stop them sticking if necessary.
  4. Add the garlic and stir in for a minute or two, again to stop it sticking.
  5. Add the cumin and coriander, mix again to thoroughly distribute and toast the spices a little until you can smell them.
  6. Add tomato paste, canned tomatoes, water, stock powder, beans and corn and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the capsicum and onion are soft.
  7. Meanwhile: Make the salsa: chop the baby tomatoes into quarters, finely slice the red onion, shred the coriander, squeeze the lime juice and mix them all together in a small bowl
  8. Make the guacamole: Mash a large avocado, adding salt, lime and or lemon juice to taste.
  9. To serve: Let each person add each ingredient to their own bowl, or arrange them beautifully yourself!

 

Chinese Savoury Rice

I don’t know why but for years we called this plain old “Savoury Rice”.  No idea where we got that from but it’s not very descriptive so I’ve added “Chinese” so you get the idea.  This is a forgiving recipe in that it can be adapted to whatever veggies you have in the fridge so it’s always a bit different every time you make it.  It’s quite incredible how many veggies you can pack into this.  It used to be a great way of getting them into my kids when they were small and suspicious of new ones as they’re all chopped up quite fine so you don’t really know what they are. 🙂

Do add some toasted nuts if you  have them, they add a lovely crunch.  Other additions which work are some cubed tofu –  marinated preferably; or some toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

Tip: To cut down on the chopping time, if you’re planning on making this during week, dice some of the required vegetable every time you use it, and pop it in to a box in the fridge.  By the end of the week all your veggies will be ready.

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Chinese Savoury Rice
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 800g cooked brown rice. It works much better if you cook rice much earlier or even the day before and refrigerate so it's cold and dry before you begin.
  • Vegetables you use are completely up to you, you need about 1kg - 1.2kg prepared weight (i.e. diced small) for 4 people. It's really a good idea to include the onions, of any variety. Last time we used:
  • Broccolini - 100g
  • Carrot - 100g
  • Green beans - 100g
  • Cauliflower - 100g
  • Red capsicum - 150g
  • Zucchini - 150g
  • Celery - 100g
  • Mushrooms - 100g
  • Spring onions - 100g
  • Sweetcorn - 100g
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon grated / chopped fresh garlic
  • 40g toasted nuts - cashews / peanuts etc - optional
  • Peas - 100g
  • Sauce - mix together in a small jug:
  • 40 ml reduced salt soy sauce
  • 40 ml sweet chilli sauce
  • 10 ml chopped chillies
  • 20 ml unhulled (the dark one) tahini - has a roasted sesame flavour
  • 60 ml hot water
Instructions
  1. It's best to cook in 2 batches to not overcrowd the wok. That works out well also if you want to add more chilli or garlic etc for the adult portions.
  2. Heat a large wok, spray very lightly with oil or a dash of stock.
  3. When it's hot add your vegetables (half of them if you're doing this quantity)
  4. Stir around, place on the lid if you have one and steam the veg.
  5. Add the garlic and ginger and stir well and continue to cook for a few more minutes. Once your harder vegetables like carrots are tender add your rice, mix thoroughly, pour over half of the sauce / extra chilli etc if required. Heat through thoroughly then serve, garnished with coriander if liked and your toasted nuts if using.

 

Brown Rice Broccoli & Red Capsicum Risotto

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We love risotto but when it’s traditionally made with white risotto rice it’s not such a fabulously nutritious choice.  So I wondered whether you could still get that wonderful creamy comforting dish using nutritionally superior brown rice.  I’m so happy to report YES you can!  You don’t necessarily have to add the cashew cream (it’s only 2-3 tablespoons) but it’s highly recommended.

I added favourite veggies broccoli, red capsicum and mushrooms but now I know this works I’m going to be making it all the time with different ones!

Cooking the rice twice was a real time saver, so you could pre cook the rice ahead of time and then this becomes a really last minute dish which is brilliant for weeknight dinners when you’re pushed for time.  If your rice is already cooked this is on the table in about 15 minutes!  🙂

Brown Rice Broccoli & Red Capsicum Risotto
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 300g medium grain brown rice
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 6-8 medium button mushrooms
  • 1 very large or 2 medium heads of broccoli
  • 1 large red capsicum
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 2-3 tablespoons cashew cream (cashews, soaked, then blended with water in high speed blender until very silky and creamy - consistency of single cream.)
Instructions
  1. NOTE: If you don't have any cashew cream on hand, soak some cashews in boiling water. Soak for as long as you can if you don't have a powerful blender. If you do you can skip the soaking. Blend with enough water to cover until very creamy and not grainy.
  2. Put your rice on to cook (we have a rice cooker which I strongly recommend as it takes out the guesswork and switches off when it's cooked so you don't need to be around!) whilst you prep your veggies.
  3. Finely chop the onion, crush or microplane the garlic, dice the mushrooms, separate the broccoli into smallish florets and finely slice the capsicum.
  4. Using a large heavy based casserole dish, sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened.
  5. Add the mushrooms and capsicum and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft.
  6. Once rice is cooked, tip it into the pan along with the stock and the broccoli. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until broccoli is cooked to your liking and rice is creamy. You may need to add more water / stock to get the consistency you want (depending on the age and variety of your rice)
  7. Stir in the cashew cream and season to taste.
  8. Turn off the heat and allow to sit until ready to serve.

My Buddha Bowl

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Google “Buddha Bowl” and you will be inundated with versions of this.  Basically it’s a bowl of steamed veggies with brown rice or another grain like quinoa, with a sauce over the top.

I’ve already posted my son’s favourite dish, well this is my teenage daughter’s!  It’s the sauce that makes it of course, and this is such an easy weeknight dish you will be tempted to have it several times, just changing the veggies or grains, and adding tofu or tempeh etc.

My Buddha Bowl
 
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The sauce makes enough for 3-4 servings, I haven't given quantities for the rice or veggies so just prepare as much as you need.
Author:
Cuisine: Asian
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • Sauce ingredients:
  • 1 T cashew butter
  • 1 T tahini,
  • 2 T vegetarian oyster sauce or other Asian stir fry sauce
  • 1 T sweet chilli sauce
  • 3 T lemon and/or lime juice - either or both, mixed together (orange is also good!)
  • 2 T tamari
  • ½ cup soy milk
  • 1 T sweet soy sauce
Instructions
  1. Put your rice on to cook, or even easier, use packets of ready cooked brown rice which just need warming through! (you can put itin the steamer along with the veggies if you like)
  2. Whilst your rice is cooking, prepare and steam your desired vegetables – broccoli, carrot, capsicum, celery, mushrooms, baby corn etc, and top with a packet of ready marinated and cooked tofu cubes to heat through (if desired - this is optional) – sweet chilli / garlic variety.
  3. Blend all the sauce ingredients in a blender (we use the Magic Bullet for this) or a jug with an immersion/stick blender until very smooth and creamy. Taste the sauce and adjust a little if necessary - different people like it more salty / more sour / more sweet etc. Pour it into a saucepan and heat gently for a few minutes when your rice and veggies are almost ready.
  4. Divide the rice, veggies and tofu between your bowls and pour the sauce over the top. Also nice scattered with fresh chopped coriander / toasted sesame seeds / etc.

 

Spanish “Risotto”

I adapted this recipe from an old favourite, “Spicy  Rice” by Mary Gwynn.  My kids love risotto but I got a bit tired of the usual mushroom and thought I’d try to take the flavours of paella and take them to Italy..  result was delicious and we really enjoyed this topped with asparagus, parsley, and pine nuts, but you can add your own favourite veggies (broccolini is lovely too) or just a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

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Spanish "Risotto"
 
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A mix of vegetable paella and risotto!
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 smallish onion, chopped
  • 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 large zucchini, diced
  • 120g green beans, cut into 1cm lengths
  • 1 yellow capsicum, diced
  • 1 large jarred roasted red pepper, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 200g risotto rice
  • 800ml vegetable stock
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • Zest of a lemon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 handfuls (about 100g) baby spinach leaves
  • 4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
  • To serve (optional)
  • - Grilled/ steamed asparagus spears
  • - Freshly chopped parsley
  • - Lemon wedge
Instructions
  1. In a large heavy bottomed casserole pan (e.g. Le Creuset), spray a fine layer of oil or use a splash of vegetable broth and use to saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes.
  2. Add the zucchini, green beans and roasted red pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomato, spices, rice and stir until well combined.
  4. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes (this will depend on your rice age and variety so check regularly) until green beans and rice are tender. Take care the rice doesn't stick to the bottom and burn, so a simmer pad is a good idea if you have one, or just stir regularly.
  5. Stir in soy milk, lemon zest and juice, spinach and turn off the heat. Allow to stand for 10 minutes (cook asparagus now if using) before serving sprinkled with the pine nuts, parsley and topped with the asparagus.
  6. Some vegan parmesan / "cheesy sprinkles" goes well on the top too (grind some nuts with nutritional yeast and salt to taste).