Spinach Rice with Roasted Tomatoes
This is a recipe riff that worked especially well. On a night that I wanted to make a side dish that could double as a vegetarian main, I remembered a blog post that I had skimmed which featured a zucchini and roasted tomato casserole. I didn’t have any zucchini on hand, but I did have some beautiful farmstand tomatoes sitting on my window sill. I also had a bag of defrosted, frozen spinach (don’t ask). And, so was born…Spinach Rice with Roasted Tomatoes. I actually think that frozen spinach works better than fresh in this recipe because it coats the rice and sort of becomes “one.” Plus, it makes this a dish that you can whip up any time with ingredients that you already have on hand.
Feel free to make the Spinach Rice with Roasted Tomatoes ahead of time and then just bake before serving. If you have any leftovers (that you’ve hidden well enough in the fridge to prevent from being eaten) try the rice the next day with a poached or over-easy egg on top. A perfect breakfast or lunch. Enjoy!
Spinach Rice with Roasted Tomatoes
- 2-4 tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 c uncooked basmati rice
- 2 Tbls olive oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 16-oz bag of frozen spinach, defrosted
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 c Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Place sliced tomatoes on a lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until roasted to remove liquid and slightly brown. Remove from oven when done but leave the oven on.
- Cook rice in your rice cooker or according to package directions. Transfer cooked rice to a bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan and saute onion until translucent. Add garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and saute for a minute more.
- Add onion mixture, drained spinach, eggs and Parmesan to bowl with rice.
- Stir to combine and season with a little more salt to taste and several grinds of pepper.
- Scoop the rice mixture into a pie dish (or any baking dish) sprayed with olive oil.
- Top with roasted tomatoes and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
- Enjoy.