Mushrooms with Greens and Whole Grain Rice
Shitake mushrooms provide me with the meaty texture which I sometimes miss eating only “plants”! The whole food plant based lifestyle. Mushrooms are thought to boost our immune system while reducing inflammation and in addition they may have an anticancer role. I tend to eat mushrooms as often as possible because of the growing research that is showing their importance to our health. So here is a quick and easy mushroom and the essential greens recipe.
Ingredients
Serves: 3 – 4
Time: 40 minutes
11oz, 300g mixed mushrooms, include fresh shiitake mushrooms, wipe and slice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 – 2 baby bok choy, washed and sliced into 1/2” slices
4 – 6 tender inside leaves of greens or collard leaves
8 purple sprouting broccoli, sliced lengthwise if the stems are thick
½ large red pepper
3 tablespoons tamari or nama shoyu (soy sauce)
6 tablespoons water
¾ tablespoons honey or date syrup
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped or grated
Freshly ground black pepper
Large handful basil, roughly chopped
Pumpkin seeds for garnish
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
What to do
1. Rinse the rice well and put in a pan, cover with water to 1/2 inch above the rice. Cover, bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a low simmer. It will take about 30 – 40 minutes for the rice to absorb all the water and be nice and tender.
2. While the rice is cooking slice the bok choy and the greens or collards, wash well and give them a whirl in a salad spinner to remove excess moisture. Prepare the purple sprouting broccoli. Set aside.
3. Mix the water, tamari and honey together and set aside.
4. Place the sliced mushroom into a hot frying pan. Keep moving the mushrooms around as they shrink and begin to brown. When they have browned a little, add half the garlic and continue to stir. Turn the heat down.
5. Add the prepared veggies to the pan and pour in half the tamari/water/honey mixture. Stir gently over a medium heat for a couple of minutes then add the sliced red pepper. Cover the pan and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until everything is soft but not over cooked.
6.Add the remaining garlic and ginger plus the remaining tamari/water/honey mixture. Move everything around the pan.
7. At the last moment before serving add the basil.
8. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Serve over whole grain brown rice allowing the juices to soak into the rice and garnish with pumpkin seeds.
