Sparkle Casserole

My neighbor once made a wonderful baked dish with tons of fresh veggies, and invited us over to share.  Never dumb enough to pass up an amazing homemade meal, Chris and I dug in with vigor.  A couple of seconds later,  I looked over at my man and noticed that he had changed color.  At that moment, the chef remembered her secret ingredient – coarsely chopped jalapenos.  I don’t know if I’m remembering the night correctly, but I’m pretty sure she called it the “sparkle” in her dish.  Lit him up like a firecracker.

 I think of this story every time I make the following dish, which is pretty often.  Again (and I realize that I’m a bit of a broken record with this), I’m all about the grain dishes that allow me to use up plenty of veggies and are throw-together easy, providing dinner that looks like more work than it is and leftovers for days to come.  It’s also (again?) one of those dishes that can be infinitely altered – change the grain of rice, the veggies, the spices, the sparkle, and you have a completely different but equally delicious dish.  Here’s my loosely Indian-themed version from last night:

 

Rice Casserole

olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 small knob ginger, peeled and grated

2 or 3 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 large carrot, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 large head bok choy, cut into (you guessed it) bite-sized pieces

1 serrano chile (the sparkle), minced, or for extra surprise factor, coarsely chopped

1 cup long-grain brown rice

3/4 tsp garam masala

3/4 tsp cumin

1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes

1 cup water

3/4 cup shredded cheese (I had asiago)

about 1/4 cup pinenuts

The good old sautee and bake.  Here we go again! 

Preheat oven to 350°.  Sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet, then add the ginger and the rest of the vegetables.  Sautee until almost tender (they will cook more in the oven, so vary your cooking time depending on how al-dente you like it).  Add the rice and spices and sautee one minute more.  Add the tomatoes and water and simmer briefly.  Transfer to a 9×13 greased baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, cover with foil and bake until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 60-90 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with pinenuts.  Ignore mouth-scalding warnings.  Devour.