A tasty recipe for baked rice with wild mushrooms and cheese

Brown rice, with its toasty taste, takes well to robust mix-ins like wild mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Add in some snappy cheese, and a little goes a long way.

• Preparation time: 20 minutes.
• Cooking time: 50 minutes.
• Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 75 g (1/3 c) dried porcini mushrooms
• 625 ml (2 1/2 c) hot water, divided
• 75 g (1/3 c) sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
• 5 ml (1 tsp) olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 250 g (1 c) brown rice
• Salt to taste
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) sage
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) pepper
• 125 g (1/2 c) shredded, reduced-fat, sharp cheddar cheese
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Place porcini in small bowl and pour 375 millilitres (1 1/2 cups) hot water over them. Place sun-dried tomatoes in a separate small bowl and pour remaining 250 millilitres (1 cup) hot water over them. Let both stand until softened, about 20 minutes.
2. Scoop mushrooms out of soaking liquid. Finely chop mushrooms. Strain soaking liquid through fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Strain sun-dried tomato soaking liquid into same bowl and set aside. Coarsely chop tomatoes.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Heat olive oil and 45 millilitres (3 tablespoons) of mushroom-tomato soaking liquid in medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pot and cook until onion is golden, about 7 minutes.
4. Add rice, stirring to coat. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, remaining soaking liquid, salt, sage and pepper to pot and bring to a boil.
5. Transfer rice mixture to 20-centimetre (8-inch) square glass baking dish. Cover with foil, transfer to oven and bake until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 40 minutes.
6. Sprinkle hot rice with cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.

• The concentrated flavour of dried porcinis and dried tomatoes doubles the flavour without adding any more fat, sugar or sodium. These wonderful enhancers can also stay on your pantry shelf for a long time.
• Brown rice is a particularly good grain for blood pressure. It is rich in magnesium, folate and other nutrients, as well as insoluble fibre. Many of these nutrients get stripped out in the milling process that is used to make white rice.

Each serving provides:

• Key nutrients: 190 calories, 25 calories from fat, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 8 g protein, 32 g carbohydrates, 3 g fibre, 140 mg sodium.
• Blood pressure nutrients: 3 mg vitamin C, 55 mg magnesium, 228 mg potassium, 71 mg calcium.

• If you can't find porcini mushrooms, try dried shiitake mushrooms, also known as Chinese black mushrooms. Or use fresh sliced mushrooms and replace the mushroom soaking water with about 250 millilitres (1 cup) water in Step 4.
• To vary the flavour, try other reduced-fat cheeses, such as Swiss or provolone.

Try this recipe today for a tasty side dish that will quickly become a family favourite.