Recipe Courgette, Rosemary Rice Cake

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This is a great recipe for the glut of courgettes you get in summer. It can be served hot or warm and is pretty good at picnics (minus the sauce). The original recipe comes from the long since defunct BBC Vegetarian Good Food magazine I used to subscribe to back in the 1990's!

You'll need a decent 23cm (9 inch) deep springform cake tin that's not seen better days and doesn't now leak. If yours does like mine, you'll need to ensure you stand the deep cake tin in a baking tin with a lip else you'll be cleaning the oven afterwards. It is essential that you use a deep cake tin, not a shallow one.

I'll write up the original recipe which is vegetarian and I'll write up another version (separately) to make it dairy free, but this dish isn't and won't be vegan without some major changes.

Ingredients
350g/12oz arborio (risotto) rice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
350g/12oz courgettes, grated
2 large onions finely chopped
4 (or more) garlic cloves, minced
3 large eggs
150g Gruyère or a strong cheddar cheese such as Wexford, finely grated
60ml double cream
2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (more if you like it)
¼-½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Seasoning

Method

1. Preheat the area to 200°C /400'F /Gas 5. Lightly grease/oil the cake tin.
2. Parboil the rice for 8-10 minutes, then take off the heat and drain it well.
3. In a large mixing boil mix the rice with the garlic and half of the oil and allow to cool.
4. Heat the other half of the oil in a large frying pan and lightly cook both the onions and courgettes for 5 minutes.
5. Beat the eggs with the cream, add the nutmeg and season liberally. Then add to the rice along with the cheese and the rosemary. Mix well.
6. Transfer to the cake tin, level and bake for about 40-55 minutes. Watch the top browns but doesn't burn and cover if needed. You'll know the cake is done when a skewer or toothpick comes out damp from moisture not cream or egg! If in doubt remember it will continue to cook once you remove it, but if you're serving it immediately, give it an extra 5 minutes and test again.
7. (Clean the bottom of your oven!)

We serve it in wedges with a simple tomato sauce which is well worth the effort to make from scratch.

Ingredients
1kg/2Ibs or so very ripe tomatoes, chopped (keep the juices!)
4 or 5 tbsp tomato concentrate
2-3 tsp caster sugar
juice of 1 lemon
good quantity of fresh basil, Chopped

Method

1. Heat the chopped tomatoes in a large covered saucepan along with the sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, starring regularly. You want them really soft.
2. Remove from heat, allow to cool a little then pass the tomatoes through a serve using the back of a dessert spoon. You want to keep as much as possible, so keep at it. It is worth the effort. Scrap the flesh off the underside of the seive when you're done.
3. Return the seived tomatoes to the cleaned pan (quick rinse is all thats needed) and stir in the remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning as required (including sugar if needed), warm through and serve over the slices of courgette rosemary rice cake.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Here's the photo

 

[JAS_OH1]

It's beautiful!