spinach and rice pie
ok so this is a recipe i got from (don't laugh) the guardian's 'cooking for kids' pamphet, from like, a year ago. it is actually full of a lot of cheap and filling recipes (i've made the chorizo chicken from it before to great success) and i tend to turn to it when i'm feeling mega-poor and in need of back-to-basics cooking to settle my mind.
anyways;
spinach and rice pie
serves 4.
ingredients
500g fresh spinach,
1 litre vegetable stock,
olive oil,
1 onion,
parsley,
300g short grain risotto rice,
60g butter,
5 eggs,
150g parmesan,
nutmeg.
1) preheat the oven to 190 degrees. wilt the spinach and warm the stock.
2) heat the olive oil in a pan and soften the onion and parsley, then stir in the rice until every grain is coated in oil.
3) add the stock a ladleful at a time. when the rice is cooked, pour into a baking dish.
4) add the spinach, the beaten eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, and some seasoning. stir together gently, top with more cheese or breadcrumbs and bake for 30-40 minutes.
righto, what did i do to put my stamp on this then? well firstly i didn't have an onion and there's no way in hell i'm going to the shop for one thing if i can get away with it, so i just chopped up a whole hell of leeks i found in the fridge instead. also i really hate parsley, there's something slightly petrol-like about it's taste, so i bunged in a load of chopped basil (also something i found in the fridge that needed using up). i didn't have parmesan i had grana padano, but to my mind that's just hair-splitting anyways. i ended up dishing it up for lara and myself with tomatoes and red peppers dressed with oil, vinegar and salt, and some shredded spring onion, and it was pretty good actually. i like the idea of this as yet another way to use up lefotver seasonal veg and am already envisaging other flavour combos for when things need using up. to be fair though, if i made it again i'd have to ramp up the flavour a bit-i assume it's so mild because it's from a cookbook for kids but i'd want garlic, more herbs (depending on what veg i used), and definitely more cheese (what isn't better with more cheese??). another 'whatever i have in the cupboard's going in this one' success, and the navel-gazing i did while endlessly stirring the arborio rice was pretty much worth it's weight in gold.
anyways;
spinach and rice pie
serves 4.
ingredients
500g fresh spinach,
1 litre vegetable stock,
olive oil,
1 onion,
parsley,
300g short grain risotto rice,
60g butter,
5 eggs,
150g parmesan,
nutmeg.
1) preheat the oven to 190 degrees. wilt the spinach and warm the stock.
2) heat the olive oil in a pan and soften the onion and parsley, then stir in the rice until every grain is coated in oil.
3) add the stock a ladleful at a time. when the rice is cooked, pour into a baking dish.
4) add the spinach, the beaten eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, and some seasoning. stir together gently, top with more cheese or breadcrumbs and bake for 30-40 minutes.
righto, what did i do to put my stamp on this then? well firstly i didn't have an onion and there's no way in hell i'm going to the shop for one thing if i can get away with it, so i just chopped up a whole hell of leeks i found in the fridge instead. also i really hate parsley, there's something slightly petrol-like about it's taste, so i bunged in a load of chopped basil (also something i found in the fridge that needed using up). i didn't have parmesan i had grana padano, but to my mind that's just hair-splitting anyways. i ended up dishing it up for lara and myself with tomatoes and red peppers dressed with oil, vinegar and salt, and some shredded spring onion, and it was pretty good actually. i like the idea of this as yet another way to use up lefotver seasonal veg and am already envisaging other flavour combos for when things need using up. to be fair though, if i made it again i'd have to ramp up the flavour a bit-i assume it's so mild because it's from a cookbook for kids but i'd want garlic, more herbs (depending on what veg i used), and definitely more cheese (what isn't better with more cheese??). another 'whatever i have in the cupboard's going in this one' success, and the navel-gazing i did while endlessly stirring the arborio rice was pretty much worth it's weight in gold.