Squash and Mushrooms with Black Japonica Rice

Every time a I make a meal, I feed not only my daughter, myself, and the two men in my own family, but also 3 other adult men.  Because my daughter and I are so severely outnumbered, once the cool weather sets in, I find myself making more meat based stews and casseroles and such. Well, today I felt I really needed to get back to my vegetarian heart and make something hearty, but a little less heavy.

Enter black japonica rice (and that butternut squash that has been sitting on my counter for almost two months).  The other day I bought a mixture of black and mahogany japonica rice thinking it might work out well with my aging butternut squash, and then I bought some mushrooms (because rice always tastes great with mushrooms).  With very few other ingredients (garlic, onions, celery...), that rice and that butternut squash became a delicious, filling meal that even the men raved about.

According to the few articles I could find on the internet, black japonica rice originated in China, but is also grown here, in the US.  While I understand that wild rice (which is also black in color) is actually a grass, japonica rice is still a rice, thus, still a grain.  It has an earthy but mildly sweet flavor.  At first, I thought the dish I had in mind might benefit from toasted walnuts on top, but the rice kind of held its own in the "nutty" department as well, and the walnuts didn't work.   Parmesan worked extremely well, but just a small amount was all it took.  I still think a smoked cheese, just a bit, might work, too, but not a soft cheese such as gouda or even provolone.

The original recipe that inspired this dish was a recipe from Real Simple for Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms and Fontina, which I haven't actually tried yet.  It just looked so good to me for at least the past week that I was determined to make that squash/mushroom/sage bit sooner than later.  Well, it finally landed on top of the black japonica rice, and it rocked.  The sweetness of the squash and the earthiness of the mushrooms (and the sheer grooviness of the sage when combined with those two vegetables) just enhanced the same sort of flavors that the japonica rice already offered, only the rice's flavors were much more mild.

Also, the package of rice I bought suggested a rice to water ratio of 1:2.  I found that by using two cups of water, the rice was still very wet at the end of cooking and resting time, so I've modified the recipe below to allow for the moisture in the onions and celery because I don't like mushy  rice.

All in all, any time my husband says to me, "Hey, this is really good - is there bacon in this?  Is there more?", and it's vegetarian,  I win.

Squash with Mushrooms and Black Japonica Rice
serves 4-5

For the rice:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 c black japonica rice (or mixture of black and mahogany japonica rice)
• 1 3/4 c water
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the Squash and Mushrooms:

• 1 2lb butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped into 1" chunks
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, halved or quartered if large
• 1/4 c fresh sage leaves, torn or roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat.  Add celery, onion, and garlic.  

Saute for 5 minutes.  Stir in rice.  

Saute for 1 more minute.  Add water and salt; stir again.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer.  

Simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until water is absorbed.  Remove from heat and let rest about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the squash, mushrooms, sage, garlic, oil, salt (I used about 3/4 tsp) and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.  Mix well to coat.

Turn the vegetable mixture out onto two 15x10" pans.  Roast in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

Divide rice between plates.  Top with roasted squash and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.


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