Friday Food: Zucchini Rice with Cheese

I'm trapped in a Typepad loop with no escape. Can't Compose in Firefox which has Spell Check, must Compose in IE, which does not. There may be spelling errors so please excuse them!!

Here in the Southern Hemisphere it is the time for zucchini. Miss picking one and by the next day it is bigger than Ben Hur. Friends give them to me and I feed The Labradors (zucchini grated, not cubed because Peri rejects the cubes but not the grate) I saw this recipe here and clicked through to here. So this is my interpretation!!

I used a 200g zucchini for one serve, so a kilo would make 4 or 5 serves, more when an accompaniment. You just need to multiply the recipe by the number of serves you desire.

It's a good idea to check the rice is tender before you add the cheese, it may need a dash more water or stock and a few more minutes. I used a mixture of tasty and Parmesan cheese and if you are worried about too much cheese, I think a little grated Parmesan goes a long way. If my parsley hadn't gone to seed I would have sprinkled some on top. The onion and garlic are in or out as you please.

This is tasty cold, or reheated the next day.

 

Zucchini Rice with Cheese    serves one as a main or 2 as a side I think

• 1/4 red onion, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• 1 tbspn good olive oil, mine is garlic infused!!!
• 200g zucchini, peeled and grated coarsely
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock, heat it up to speed the cooking
• 1/2 cup long grain rice
• 1/2 cup grated cheese, Tasty/Parmesan

I grated the zucchini on the coarse side of the grater and then I twisted it up in the clean cloth and squeezed out the excess water.

I then added enough stock to make it up to one cup. I did this because otherwise the rice might be too watery at the end. I squeezed about 50ml of green water!! Set it aside for a bit later on.

In a pan over medium heat, fry the onion and garlic in the oil for a minute or so and then add the rice and stir to coat well, and fry for a minute or two. Add the stock, bring to the boil, cover and then turn the heat down to low. The mixture should burble along.

Cook for 10-15 minutes and then add the zucchini. Fold in and add a dash of extra water or stock if needed. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Stir in the cheese and take off the heat. Cover and stand for 5 minutes, then serve. I think a  squeeze of lemon juice finishes it off nicely!!!

Comments

[Jan]

A squeeze of lemon juice finishes off most things quite nicely. I use heaps of lemons and resent having to buy lemons when I once had a prolific tree.

[Susan]

Well, I'm glad you are back to Typepad any way. I love thinking about summer now, so this post really hit the spot, as we are in the middle of a ten day sub-freezing spell here.

[RoseRed]

That sounds really good, I think Connor would love that too. Sadly our zucchini plants did not deliver. I think not enough sun? Will try a different spot next year.

Peri is funny, rejecting the cubes but not the grate! Connor is the same with potatoes - won't eat roast potatoes, but will eat them if I cut them like chips instead - cooked exactly the same way!

[mrspao]

Oooh yummy!