My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe and I’ve always loved it – a satisfying savory dish that’s gluten free, a meal in itself, delicious cold or hot, freezes well and looks great on the table! It really came into its own last month when the storm and power outage left us with a fridge full of half opened cheeses and vegetables in urgent need of reinvention, and definitely deserves a spot on the storm spoils list.
It’s also a lovely way to use all those summer vegetables in abundance at the moment and with Australian rice, Borrello Mozzarella and Romano, Brownes cheddar and local olive oil it perfectly suits the Locavore lifestyle.
You’ll need a spring form pan to get the nice shape, and an oven connected to a working power source to cook it!
Ingredients:
• 300 gm short grain rice
• 1 small eggplant, diced
• 1 small capsicum, diced
• Half an onion, diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch spinach
• 5 eggs
• 200 g mozzarella cheese, diced
• 200 g grated parmesan or romano-style cheese
• 150 g cheddar, grated
• small handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp crushed corn chips (or breadcrumbs if you don’t mind gluten)
Method:
Cook the rice to al dente in a rice cooker or using saucepan method, then allow to cool.
Add olive oil to a large frypan and fry onion, adding the diced capsicum, eggplant and then spinach and sauté until all are lightly cooked and the spinach has wilted down.
Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl and add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then add the rice and all the vegetables and cheeses, including the cherry tomatoes. Mix through well (using your hands works best).
Grease the springform pan and sprinkle with the finely crushed corn chips or breadcrumbs.
Carefully add the mixture, pressing down firmly to form a cake. (I used a potato masher).
Sprinkle extra cheese and crushed corn chips on top and bake at 200 deg C for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool before removing from pan. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and can be frozen.
