Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Wild Rice Casserole

I was in need for something hearty, something comforting. You see, my younger cousin was rushed to the hospital for an appendectomy so I volunteered to bring dinner over for my Aunt and Uncle so they didn't have to worry about cooking. I couldn't figure out what to make them. I was flipping through my trusty cookbook Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson, when I came across this casserole. Not to mention I was in a casserole craze. At the time I was recently introduced to casseroles by my undergraduate college roommate. Never before her have I even seen a casserole, weird huh? Regardless, I decided to make this one, and oh boy was it delicious. So delicious in fact that my family had me make them one for dinner that night as well.

2 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 1/2 cup cooked wild rice*
1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice*
1/3 cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese
1 teaspoon tarragon or thyme, chopped for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a large casserole dish with non stick cooking spray(I used a large rectangular glass dish that I normally save for brownies). In a bowl whisk the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard and salt. Set aside. In a large pan heat the olive oil and add the mushrooms, cook, stirring often, for about five minutes over high heat or until mushrooms are browned. Add the onion and cook until translucent, stir in garlic, cook for one more minute. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cooked rice, mix. Add the rice mixture to the cottage cheese mixture, stir until incorporated. Spoon mixture into casserole dish, sprinkle with 2/3 of the Gruyere cheese, cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, cook for another 20-30 minutes until cheese gets bubbly and golden. Take out of oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese and thyme/tarragon. Serve hot!

*You can use 3 cups of wild rice or 3 cups of brown rice instead of half and half, but honestly it makes a big textural difference using both

This recipe was adapted from Heidi Swanson

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