Wild Rice Gratin

Mama's Kitchen (Hope)'s Note:

This is a delicious dish and a wonderful use for yummy and nutritious wild rice. This also hides the veggies which is the only way my family will eat them! grrr! Easy to double all the ingredients and make 2 casseroles! One to freeze and one to serve! This is great for potlucks and covered dish dinners too!

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 9

• 4 cups cooked wild rice or 4 cups cooked wild rice , and regular rice blend
• 1 lb spinach, washed (bag spinach is great) or 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach , well squeezed of all liquid
• 3 eggs or ½ cup Egg Beaters egg substitute
• 1 bunch green onion , chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons parsley , chopped
• 8 ounces monterey jack pepper cheese , grated
• 4 ounces water chestnuts , minced

Garnish

• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs well and season with salt and pepper. Stir in rice, cheese and parsley.
2. Lightly saute the green onions, using both green and white parts, in a large skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
3. If using fresh spinach tear or coarsely chop the spinach leaves and stir them to the pan of green onions and toss just until a little wilted. Frozen spinach would only require a good squeeze to remove all the liquid- I use a ricer for this and it works great!
4. Add the onions and spinach to the rice mixture and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.
5. Spoon into an 8x8 or 9x9 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with bread crumbs if desired.
6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a little brown on top.
7. Enjoy!

Reviews

[smellyvegetarian]

Oooh I reaaaalllly liked this one! I love wild rice, and making it cheesy just sweetens the deal. I used two real eggs and one equivalent of egg beaters. I also used 2% cheese, and since it was a cheddar-jack blend I added a few shakes of ground cayenne pepper to make sure I had that pepper jack flavor. I will probably add a little more salt next time, but otherwise this is great as is. I did use panko on top but I don't think it is at all necessary. Thanks for posting! Made for the September 2008 Veg*n swap.

[Yaffa]

Very good...I halved the recipe...but it really turned out to be 2-3 large portions. I added fresh mushrooms and sauteed them with the green onions. Thanks so much.

[Kim Bekukin]

This is excellent! I used the egg beaters and felt it needed some breadcrumbs on the surface. The eggs created a sort of sheen on the surface after it was cooked, kind of like the skin of pudding does and the breadcrumbs would have disguised that. Strictly an esthetic choice. My family scarfed this up. Another good recipe from Mama's Kitchen. Thanks.