Recipe: Mollie Katzen's Spinach-Rice Casserole

Moosewood Cookbook is a staple in vegetarian cookbooks; I've been cooking out of my copy since I was a freshman in college, and the thing is starting to fall apart, partly from use, and partly because, despite my mother's best efforts, I'm terrible about not cooking immediately next to my cookbooks, which means they are constantly getting splattered and spilled on.

This Spinach-Rice Casserole  from Moosewood Cookbook is one of those recipes that can easily be veganized.

Spinach-Rice Casserole

Adapted from Moosewood Cookbook, originally posted on This, That, and the Other

We gave this recipe a solid 'A' in our cookbook notes. It's easy to make and a delicious, wintery, comfort-food. While you can use short, medium, or long-grain brown rice, you will save yourself calories by avoiding short grain brown rice. For your flax egg, either run your flax meal or flax seeds through a coffee grinder or food processor before mixing with the water, or put in the blender with the water. The broccoli slaw can be found by the salad mixes in the produce section. Our mix was a "rainbow mix," with a little bit of shredded carrots and cabbage in addition to the broccoli. Yum!

 2 Tbsp. finely ground flax
 4 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance (or olive oil)
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded broccoli slaw mix / diced broccoli stems and florets
2 bunches fresh spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped
2 tsp. salt
5 garlic cloves, minced
dash of nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, separated
1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or almond milk, for soy-free)

Whisk the ground flax and water together and set aside for least 10 minutes.

Cook the rice per the manufacturer's instructions. When the rice is finished, remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, heat the oven to 350F. Heat the Earth Balance in a dutch oven or deep skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion for 5-7 minutes until it start to brown and soften. Add the broccoli and a few teaspoons of water. Continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli turns bright green and starts to soften as well. Add the spinach, garlic, and salt. Continue to cook over medium heat, about 5 minutes or until the spinach wilts and cooks down. Remove from heat and mix in the cooked rice, nutmeg, cayenne, and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (not full 1/2 cup!).

Beat the flax eggs and soy milk together until well combined. Pour the milk-mixture over the vegetables and rice and stir.

Spread into a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Use a scraper to press the mixture down evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds on the top of the casserole.

Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes until the casserole is heated through and is beginning to brown on top. Remove and let rest for about 5 minutes, then serve!

Serves 8, at about 205 calories per serving, with 8 grams of protein per serving. This recipe is high in iron, manganese, magnesium, and Vitamins A, B6, and C. 

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