Golden Rice Pie
"Shirl J said "I have leftover rice and chicken--what to do?" I remembered this Mollie Katzen recipe. I hadn't made it in a long time, but I made it again, and, with apologies to Ms. Katzen, added chicken. A really nice luncheon or supper dish."
photo by WicklewoodWench
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked basmati rice or 3 cups jasmine rice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups chopped onions
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 lb fresh spinach, cleaned,stemmed and coarsely chopped (usually one bunch)
- 2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon, zest of
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1⁄2 - 2 cups cooked chicken, bones and skin removed,shredded
- 1⁄2 cup raisins (optional)
- butter, for the baking dish
- pine nuts or pomegranate seeds, to garnish (suggested by Mollie Katzen)
directions
- Cook rice and allow it to cool slightly.
- While rice is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet.
- When oil is very hot, add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and turn heat to medium low.
- Stir and cook for about five minutes, then cover the pan and let the onion cook for 30 minutes longer.
- Stir in the spices and the garlic and cook for five more minutes.
- Turn the heat to high and add the spinach and another 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Stir fry until the liquid has evaporated--just a few moments.
- Remove from heat and mix in chicken and, if you are using them, the raisins.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Generously butter a two-quart lidded casserole (about 10" in diameter and 2" deep) and its lid.
- If you do not have a lidded casserole, you can cover your dish with buttered foil.
- Combine yogurt, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper and beat well.
- Add the rice and mix thoroughly.
- Firmly press half the rice into the buttered casserole.
- Lift the spinach mixture from the skillet with a slotted spoon and spread it over the rice.
- Next, top the spinach with the remaining rice, smoothing it firmly into place.
- Cover the casserole with its buttered lid or with foil, butter side down.
- Bake for 45 minutes in the center rack of the oven, then move to the bottom shelf and bake for ten more minutes.
- Remove from oven and let it rest for about ten minutes.
- Invert onto a platter and serve, cut in wedges.
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Reviews
-
Delicious just time consuming. Pretty presentation with the two garnishes. I made 1/4 batch for a large bread loaf pan that would feed 2-3 people. I used white Basmati rice cooked with some butter & sea salt, unrefined extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground coriander, allspice in place of nutmeg as we do not consume intoxicants, fresh baby spinach, a good 3% plain yogurt, freshly ground black pepper, no chicken, no optional raisins, fresh pomegranate seeds, plus the rest of the ingredients. I served it with recipe#219789 and Balkan (thick) yogurt for a filling vegetarian meal. I might make this again. Made for NA/ME TAG not sure what month. -
I made this for NA*ME 2011 and like the other reviewers I halved the ingredients as there are only the four of us here at the moment and two of them are unbelievably picky eaters,,,but it was so tasty I have had requests to make it again. I think I shall wait until the whole family is here and I can make the full recipe and perhaps have a proper Middle Eastern banquet. -
I haven't tried this yet but since the reviewers had questions I did a Google search and found the original so I could figure out the details. The link is http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=rice_pie -
This was incredibly delicious and easy to prepare-just time consuming. What a fantastic blend of flavors: savory, sweet, tart... I did use only 3 cups COOKED rice as 3 cups uncooked would have meant 6 cups cooked and it wouldn't have been able to fit in a 2 quart casserole dish. I also omitted the chicken. Do simmer the onions for the entire 30 minutes. You will be rewarded with truly delicious caramelized onions. Garnished with toasted pine nuts. I have been looking at this recipe for a long time and finally decided to try it. I'm sorry I waited so long. Excellent directions. A really special recipe! Thanks for sharing. cg ;) PS I used organic frozen spinach from my desperate days back in fall due to the spinach scare. I was happy to make good use of the spinach. -
Oh my goodness!!! This was quite a production. Start to finish this took only 2 hours so it is not as long as indicated. The last hour is cooking and waiting so you have plenty of time to clean up because you will dirty many dishes!! I have never made anything like this before. I loved it. The flavor was good, the lemony rice crust was perfect. Amazingly this did not fall apart when I turned it upside down. I did run a knife around the edge though. I made as indicated except I had to use frozen spinach as there is no fresh available. I did not put the raisins in and I used a 2 1/2 quart casserole. I don't think it will fit in a 2 quart. Thanks Chef Kate. This is the type of fun recipe that I like to make!!
Tweaks
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Delicious just time consuming. Pretty presentation with the two garnishes. I made 1/4 batch for a large bread loaf pan that would feed 2-3 people. I used white Basmati rice cooked with some butter & sea salt, unrefined extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground coriander, allspice in place of nutmeg as we do not consume intoxicants, fresh baby spinach, a good 3% plain yogurt, freshly ground black pepper, no chicken, no optional raisins, fresh pomegranate seeds, plus the rest of the ingredients. I served it with recipe#219789 and Balkan (thick) yogurt for a filling vegetarian meal. I might make this again. Made for NA/ME TAG not sure what month.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Chef Kate
Annapolis, 60
<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
