Brown Risotto with Spinach

Cooking Time: 40 min Prep Time: 10 min

Brown rice is the first point into the macrobiotic world. It is also the first step of many when it comes to losing weight. But how it’s affecting the human brain is a completely new chapter.

Sometimes we are on the clouds and sometimes we feel that all the world is against us and the only thing we can do is hide under a rock until the storm passes. Words like “overwhelmed”, “stress” and “anxiety” are becoming very popular in our society. If we start digging deeper, maybe we will see that stress is becoming our tool as an award-winning emotion for just “feeling “alive”.

There is nothing more beautiful than the present moment, is there?  Or, maybe, the present moment is all we have.

Dishes with brown rice must be eaten with an awareness. To be aware of spoon on the way to your mouth is a special moment.  Why?

When you eat brown rice, your mind receives enlightenment. The presence of amino acids is improving the well-being of our brain, releasing stress and toxic mental patterns from our right hemisphere. We are connected with our home, the Earth. We found the center of our being.

 In this dish, especially I decided to show my gratitude to our Mother Nature, trying to recreate pure nutritional value on a plate. Simplicity and beautiful tastes are two great companions on this path. Let’s try it!

Recipe

COOKING TIME: 40 min

PREP TIME: 10 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 150 g baby leaves spinach
• 28 g Herb stock
• 1 tablespoon of gluten-free flour
• ½ lemon
• 1 teaspoon of garlic puree
• ½ cup of roughly chopped fresh parsley
• Salt to taste

Method:

Amount of water to brown rice 3:1

Using a medium size pan, bring the water to boil. In the boiling water add herb stock, salt and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Now you can add your 1 cup of rice and reduce the heat to low.

Boil the spinach for 5 minutes. The difference between spinach and other vegetables is the longer you cook spinach the more iron is released but to get iron from other vegetables like broccoli or asparagus you would have to cook them to near raw to get any iron. Spinach oxalate is released into the cooking water which means the iron will be available for absorption.

Non-heme iron is the iron absorbed from vegetables and heme iron is the iron absorbed from meats. Because of non-heme iron, in this story we will add lemon later in the recipe. Vitamin C from the lemon will help to maximise absorption of all non-heme iron in your dish and will also give it a stronger flavour.

Heat a frying pan and then add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, spread your spoon of gluten free flour inside and stir gently until you get a thick golden roux like mixture. Add cooked spinach and then your garlic puree, stirring well. At the end, add your chopped parsley and stir for 1 more minute.

After 35 minutes, check your rice. Don’t wait until it’s mushy. When your rice is al dente, combine it with your spinach in a hot frying pan. Gently mix it all together with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes.

Season with salt and sprinkle with lemon juice to top of your dish. Enjoy!

Chef Senka Stanisevski