It's no secret that I love kale. I'm particularly fond of lacinato kale, or by another name, dinosaur kale, as its scaly leaves bring to mind. But, if the weather is any indicator, I better send this winter vegetable a dear kale letter and say hello to asparagus and rhubarb. Goodbye, kale. I'll see you again in the fall. But, before I bid you well, let's have another go around. Shall we?
When I came across this recipe in Eating Well, it called for spinach. I like spinach, sure, but not as much as I like kale, so I made an executive decision Mitt Romney-style and fired the spinach from this dish. The recipe is below. The only thing I changed is the kale substitution. To prepare the kale I sauteed it for about 15 minutes in chicken stock until the bitterness was gone. Then I drained it, added a squirt of lemon, and then added it to the rice mixture (as described below). This is a hearty vegetarian meal. Serve it with a light salad with a red wine vinaigrette.
I included the nutritional information because while this dish looks like a trip to a fat farm, it's not so bad as long as you don't eat half of it in one sitting. Good luck with that one.
Rice, Cheddar & Spinach Pie
From Eating Well: March/April 2012
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 3 cups cooked instant or quick-cooking brown rice
- 1 cup diced extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup nonfat milk
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Generously coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and spinach; cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Add rice, cheese, pepper and salt to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Whisk eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Stir into the spinach-rice mixture. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake the pie until lightly browned in spots, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.
NUTRITION
Per serving: 340 calories; 18 g fat ( 6 g sat , 8 g mono ); 144 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrates; 0 gadded sugars; 14 g protein; 3 g fiber; 309 mg sodium; 300 mg potassium.
