Taste of Thursday with Petite Kitchen: Creamy & Comforting Vegetable Casserole

Creamy and Comforting Vegetable Casserole packed with Fragrant Herbs and Red Rice

The kids and I have been feeling a little under the weather the last couple of days, so for tonight’s Meat Free Monday dinner I was craving this nourishing, creamy and comforting vegetable casserole packed full of fragrant and aromatic herbs. I added plenty of garlic, leeks, mushrooms, peas, sweet potato, spring onion, and red rice. This ancient grain is beautiful in colour, which comes from the natural pigment in the nutritionally-rich bran layer of this exotic and nutty rice. Perfectly wholesome, and packed full of goodness. Would be fantastic with a sprinkling of parmesan also, if you are that way inclined!

3 tbsp butter, ghee or olive oil
1 bulb of garlic, each clove roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly sliced
2 tbsp honey, maple or brown rice syrup
a large handful of sage and thyme, roughly chopped
2 cups of roughly chopped portobello mushrooms
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cups of good quality vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup red rice
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
4 spring onions, roughly chopped
juice of half a lemon
sea salt
pepper

Heat the butter, ghee or olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and leeks, and saute for 5 minutes or so until softened. Add the honey and herbs, and continue to cook while stirring until slightly caramelised.

Add the mushrooms, sweet potatoes, stock and rice. Bring to the boil, and then simmer on low for 40 minutes, or until the rice is almost cooked through. You can add a little more stock or water if you need to.

Add the peas, spring onions and lemon juice, and cook for a further five minutes.

Remove from the heat, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Leave to cool slightly before serving.

Serves 4

*gluten free
*dairy free
*vegetarian

See more beautiful recipes from Petite Kitchen here.