Recipe: Dorothy’s Lower-Fat Cheesy Green Chile Rice
[1]Summary: Cheesy rice, spiced with green chiles, garlic and cumin, and topped with a smoky dusting of paprika, is a comforting side dish or lunch.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice; this = about 1 1/2-1 2/3 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles (I used Hatch chiles I had roasted and frozen from September [2])
- 1 cup light sour cream (Daisy brand preferred) (I have also used Karoun Lite Labne Kefir Cheese with great results)
- 1 (7-ounce) package Kerrygold Reduced-Fat Dubliner cheese [3], shredded
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Grinding of black pepper
- Garnish: Smoked paprika or regular paprika
Instructions
- Cook rice according to directions on package. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9- by 5-inch baking dish (loaf pan) with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked rice, chiles, sour cream, cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, oregano, cumin, garlic, onion powder and a few grindings of black pepper. Turn mixture into prepared dish, and sprinkle top with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan and a sprinkling of paprika, if you are using it.
- Bake 60 minutes, until casserole is toasty brown on top.
- Serves 4-5.
- (Chile heads may wish to add a splash of hot sauce to their dish.)
The cheese
[4]Dubliner is the flagship cheese of the Kerrygold brand, and the reduced-fat version has all of the flavor with 30 fewer calories and 33% less fat per 1-ounce serving. That works for me! If you’ve never tried Dubliner, now is a good time. Here is their description of this complex cheese: “It has a natural hint of sweetness, elements of a mature Cheddar, the deep, nutty taste of a Swiss and the piquant bite of an aged Parmesan. It is at once crumbly yet creamy with the aromas of fresh-baked bread layered with fresh buttermilk.” Swoon. All Kerrygold cheeses and butter is made in Ireland with milk from grass-fed cows that are never given growth hormones. The cows are raised on small family farms (average herd size is 60).
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hours
Diet type: Vegetarian
Diet tags: Gluten free
Number of servings (yield): 4-5
My rating
Disclosure: Kerrygold sent the cheese for recipe development.