Vegetable and Rice Muffins...Cakes

These muffin-shaped vegie cakes contain boiled rice, finely chopped/grated vegetables, egg and cheese. After baking them until golden brown, we serve them hot with sweet chilli sauce as a snack, side dish, or vegetarian meal.

We used a small onion, a medium carrot, and a medium zucchini in this recipe.

Preparation time: about 45 minutes (excludes baking time)

Makes 6.

150g (2/3 cup) rice
140g (1 cup, lightly packed) grated zucchini
20g (1 tablespoon) butter
90g (1/2 cup) finely chopped onion
1 small red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
90g (1/2 cup, very firmly packed) grated carrot
40g (1 cup, lightly packed) finely chopped baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
44g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese
36g tasty cheddar cheese, cut into six equal pieces
3 cherry tomatoes, halved (or 6 small slices of tomato)
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Grease 6 holes in a muffin pan (1/3 cup capacity holes). Line the base of each hole with a circle of baking paper.

Boil rice according to directions on packet. Drain cooked rice and set aside.

Squeeze excess moisture from grated zucchini (we do this over the kitchen sink). © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, chilli, and garlic and cook for two minutes, without browning, stirring occasionally. Add carrot, and cook for another two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini, baby spinach, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for another minute.

Remove saucepan from heat and transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Stir in rice. Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

Stir eggs and parmesan cheese into rice mixture. Fill the prepared muffin holes with the rice mixture, pressing the mixture down so that the cakes hold together.

Top each vegie cake with a piece of cheese and a piece of tomato.

Bake for about 24-30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce.

Store vegie cakes in a covered container in the refrigerator. They are suitable to reheat in the microwave or oven. If you are reheating the vegie cakes in the oven, cover them so they don’t dry out.


Variation: Rice and Vegie Slice

Use 50g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese in place of the cheddar cheese pieces. Use one small-medium tomato in place of the cherry tomatoes.

Grease base and sides of a 20cm non-stick square pan. Line base with baking paper.

Firmly press rice and egg mixture into the prepared pan. Cover top of rice mixture with tomato slices and sprinkle with tasty cheese.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced) for about 35 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown. Cut into slices, drizzle with sweet chilli sauce and serve.