Delicious and low-fat pie
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- cooking spray
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 cups jasmine rice or basmati, or long grain, cooked
- 2 large egg whites lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini sliced
- 1 1/2 cups yellow squash sliced
- 1 cup onion thinly sliced, separated into rings
- 1 cup fresh fennel bulb thinly sliced, (about 1small bulb)
- 1 cup tomato sliced
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives chopped, pined
- 1/2 cup fontina cheese (2 ounces) shredded, divided
- Carbohydrate 66.9488649998282 g
- Cholesterol 14.5933333333333 mg
- Fat 5.77391666633933 g
- Fiber 3.04361665235471 g
- Protein 17.615878333304 g
- Saturated Fat 2.77488083328482 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (278g)
- Sodium 295.654749999954 mg
- Sugar 63.9052483474735 g
- Trans Fat 0.512340666654035 g
- Calories 393 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Combine rice, Parmesan cheese, and egg whites in a bowl, and stir well.
- Press rice mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until rice mixture is set. Remove from oven.
- Increase oven temperature to 450.
- Combine zucchini and next 8 ingredients in a bowl; toss well.
- Place vegetable mixture on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine vegetable mixture, tomato, and olives toss gently.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup fontina cheese over rice crust; top with vegetable mixture.
- Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup fontina cheese over vegetable mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 30 minutes.
Fontina cheese carries the heaviest structural load in this assembly, melting at a relatively low temperature of roughly 130 degrees Fahrenheit to bind the high-moisture vegetables to the grain base without drowning them in fat. Long-grain rice provides starch molecules that retrograde upon initial ten-minute baking at 400 degrees, creating a rigid carbohydrate matrix capable of supporting watery produce like zucchini and yellow squash. Slicing those vegetables uniformly ensures even cellular breakdown during the fifteen-minute roast at 450 degrees, preventing pockets of raw fennel from overpowering the subtle garlic and herb blend. Olives introduce pockets of sodium chloride and natural oils that puncture the mild dairy richness of both the parmesan and the remaining fontina. Pairing this dish with a crisp green salad dressed simply in lemon juice provides the necessary acid contrast to cut through the dense rice crust and melted lipids. Leftovers keep for up to three days in a sealed container, though the crust will soften as starches absorb ambient moisture.
