It’s Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas!
Today brings us to the main attraction for your Christmas table! This is a take on the Chicken and Rice Casserole on the blog, so beloved, that we thought the vegetarians need to get in on this as well. If you can assorted mushrooms where you live, please spring for those. They add so much tExTuRe and depth of flavour, but if you have only button mushrooms, that works too. I would just do a topping of cheese AND breadcrumbs to up the textural excitement on this. Btw, this is the best possible use for left over rice, and a very, very compelling reason to make an extra portion, when you’re making ghee rice.
Recipe: Mushroom Rice casserole
Ingredients
For the rice
1 cup stock (or 1 cup water + stock cube)
½ cup short-grain white rice
1 tbsp butter
For the mushrooms
500 g mixed mushrooms, torn into bite sized pieces, or button mushrooms, sliced
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
100 g butter (you can use less, but it’s Christmas)
1 tbsp oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tbsp chilli flakes
For the white sauce
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
½ cup stock (or ½ cup water + stock cube)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheese ( a mix of cheddar and mozarella is very nice here. But feel free to use any other melty cheese)
Method
To make the rice
Bring the stock and butter to a boil in a pot that is deep and not wide (to minimise evaporation).
Add the washed rice.
Add salt to taste, if needed.
When the liquid reduces to the level of the rice, reduce heat, cover and cook on low flame for 15 minutes or until rice is cooked through.
To make the mushrooms
Melt butter in a pan with the oil. Add the mushrooms and onions and sauté until the mushrooms crisp up. This will take a lot longer than you think.
Halfway through this process, add the garlic, chilli flakes and salt.
To make the white sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming.
Add the flour and stir for 1-2 minutes or until it changes colour slightly. Remove from heat, slowly add milk and broth, mixing constantly, until mixture is smooth.
Return to heat, stir until sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
To assemble
Spoon the rice into a baking dish with 4 cup capacity, and flatten with the back of your spoon.
Top with mushrooms, pour the white sauce on top, sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
Serve hot.