For the Love of...: ...Minute Rice with Chef John Higgins (GIVEAWAY CONTEST!)

We're excited to hold a giveaway contest sponsored by Minute Rice.  Read to the end of this post to find out how you can enter to win!

Photo courtesy of ctvnews.ca

What can I say about rice?  Eat it, all day, everyday.  At least that was the case growing up in a Chinese family.  A proper Chinese meal is not complete with rice, as I'm sure is the case with many other Asian cuisines.  These days we don't necessarily have rice everyday but it is an ingredient that is so versatile and easy to incorporate into any kind of meal, that we always have a large bin of it on hand.

Last week we were invited to watch Chef John Higgins (Director of George Brown Chef School, a judge on the Food Network’s Chopped Canada and former personal chef for the Queen Mother) cook up some Minute Rice.  As someone who eats rice frequently, sometimes you can get in a recipe rut so Chef Higgins' message of experimenting with seasonings and flavour was inspiring.  We typically use water to cook our rice so we're excited to use stock, spices and herbs to spice things up (pun intended).  I particularly liked the idea of roasting nuts to bring out the oils and use them to cook with rice for a nutty flavour.  

So what is the deal with Minute Rice? Instead of waiting 15 minutes or more for your rice to cook, Minute Rice is done in 5-10 minutes (white/brown rice dependent).  Minute Rice is simply pre-cooked 100% natural, non-GMO verified rice that's dried so the cooking time is cut down by more than half.  If you're a risotto lover, Chef Higgins suggests Minute Rice may be your solution to slaving over the stove for an hour waiting for the rice to cook.

Here is the display worthy Veggie Rice Lasagna Loaf Chef Higgins demonstrated for us:

Veggie Rice Lasagna

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

-2 cups (500 ml)  Minute Rice^® Instant Premium Long Grain White Rice

-1/4 cup (60 ml)              grated Parmesan cheese, good quality, if possible

-2 tbsp (30 ml)                olive oil

-2 bunches                     green onions, chopped

-1 pkg (10 oz/300 g)        frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed well to remove liquid

-2 cloves (5 g)                 garlic, minced

-1 1/2 cups (375 ml)        light ricotta or cottage cheese

-1 cup (200 g)                 zucchini, sliced

-1 jar (24 oz/700 ml)        prepared marinara or home-made pasta sauce

-2 cups (500 ml)             shredded low fat Mozzarella cheese

-2 (145g)                        tomatoes, sliced

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).  Prepare rice according to package directions.  Stir in the parmesan cheese and reserve.  

2.  Place 15 ml of the olive oil in a warm pan, then add the chopped green onions, followed by the spinach, and season with garlic.  Cook for one minute.  Add salt and pepper, then allow to cool.  Mix with ricotta cheese until combined.

3.  Place the rest of the olive oil in a non-stick pan.  Add the sliced zucchini.  Cook for 10 seconds on each side.  Season to taste.  Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to absorb the oil and allow to cool.

4.  Spoon ¼ cup (60 ml) of the marinara sauce into a greased 8-inch (2L) square baking dish.  Gently press half of the rice into the baking dish in an even layer; sprinkle with ½ cup (125 ml) mozzarella cheese.  Spread half of the spinach mixture over the cheese.  

5.  Top with half of the tomato and zucchini slices, overlapping as needed.  Spoon half of the remaining marinara sauce over the slices.  Repeat the layers, ending with the sauce.

6.  Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.  Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

ENTER TO WIN!

To enter to win a case of Minute Rice (12 boxes, $60 value), you must be a Canadian resident and all you have to do is:

-Enter your email address (below via Rafflecopter)

-Double your chances of winning by following us on Twitter @dcfortheloveof and tweeting: 

"I followed and entered @dcfortheloveof giveaway for Minute Rice!"

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just a reminder, to qualify you must follow us on Twitter!

A random winner will be selected from all the entries.  The contest closes on May 15, 2015.  In the meantime, if you want to pick up a box of Minute Rice, check out this $1 off coupon!

Photos courtesy of Gail Bergman PR