Last night I made Jamie Oliver‘s Courgette Gratin for the first time, or as Australians would call it “zucchinis with rice and cheese”. Surprisingly I followed the recipe and measured things out, well mostly.
The exception being that I attempted to make the dish a bit healthier by substituting basmati rice with brown rice. I’d like to say I made this choice for a healthy easy meal, but honestly, it was the only rice I had in the pantry. It was more a matter of being lazy. The final dish would have tasted better and been much less soggy if I had the knowledge that brown rice cooks very differently to basmati rice.
The lesson I learnt last night and want to pass on to you for your next healthy meal, is that brown rice is delicious, but takes more time to cook than white rice, and is less absorbent. So next time I make this dish I will cook the rice for a little longer and in significantly less stock.
If you’re wondering, this dish is also delicious cold for a quick and easy healthy lunch the next day.
Basic cooking instructions
- Slowly fry 2 thinly diced onions in lots of oil for about 15 minutes.
- Add 90 grams of brown rice to the pan and stir.
- Throw in 4 sliced courgettes (Aussies call them zucchinis, but I was introduced to this vegetable in France so I naturally call it a courgette).
- Just cover with stock (I used chicken stock but vegetable stock would work too), simmer and stir until the courgettes are moist (if you don’t love the word ‘moist’, you should commit to adjusting to me using it regularly when I’m describing food).
- Take the pan off the heat, stir in 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche (thickened cream will do the job) and 100 grams of cheddar cheese.
- Place the ingredients in an oven safe dish, sprinkle with some more cheese and bake for approximately 40 minutes.
- Enjoy a delicious, simple, healthy, inexpensive dish.
Naturally, this dish tastes even better if you can make it with organic home grown courgettes.
You can find other delicious meals I’ve made like Ramen with Miso Glazed Chicken and Kale and vegetarian dishes that meat lovers will fight you for.
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