Spinach-Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 4 cups Brown Rice, cooked
• 2 lbs raw Spinach, chopped
• 1 cup Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp Butter
• 4 Eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Milk
• 1.5 cups Cheddar, grated
• 0.25 cup Parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp Tamari
• 0.5 tsp Salt
• 0.25 cup Sunflower Seeds
• Nutmeg
• Cayenne
• Paprika

Method

Heat the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan and sauté the onion with a pinch of salt until translucent, roughly 4–5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. The salt draws moisture from the onion and accelerates softening through vegetable-cookery osmosis. Tip in the spinach — it will look like far too much — and stir constantly for 2 minutes. The heat wilts the leaves and drives off excess water; you want the spinach barely tender and distinctly greener than pale. This matters because wet spinach will make your casserole watery.

Combine the cooked spinach mixture with the brown rice, beaten eggs, milk, grated Cheddar, parsley, and tamari in a large mixing bowl. The eggs are your egg-binding agent — they'll set as the casserole-cooking|casserole cooks, transforming a loose rice-and-greens mixture into something with structure. Grind in a small pinch of nutmeg (about one-eighth of a teaspoon; it's a background note here, not a declaration), a very small amount of cayenne for warmth, and season to taste with salt. The tamari adds depth and salt simultaneously; taste and adjust before baking.

Butter a 9-by-13-inch casserole-dish thoroughly — use your fingertips to coat the corners — and spread the mixture evenly. Scatter the sunflower seeds across the surface and dust with paprika. The paprika gives colour only; if you want heat, build it from the cayenne in the body of the dish, not the garnish.

Cover the dish with foil and bake at 175°C for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes until the top is lightly coloured and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out hot with no wet mixture clinging to it. The covered phase prevents the top from drying while the interior sets; uncovering in the final stretch lets the paprika darken and the sunflower seeds toast slightly. Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving — the eggs continue to set during rest, and you'll get clean spoonfuls rather than a loose, collapsing structure.