Greek cuisine is rich with delicious vegan dishes and these are a group of creamy, risotto style vegetarian comfort foods. Rizi is rice in Greek, so these dishes have names like: spanakoprizo (spinach risotto), prassorizo (leek risotto), lahanorizo (cabbage risotto), fakorizo (lentil risotto), revithorizo (chickpea risotto). fasolorizo (bean risotto), etc. The traditional Greek diet is mostly vegetarian and legumes are consumed at least twice per week. So these dishes give you the protein from the vegetables with the carbohydrates from the rice and make for a delicious, healthy & satisfying meal.
General recipe
For 1lb of spinach or leeks or cabbage or 1/2 lb dried legumes (lentils or chickpeas or beans)
1/3 cup medium grain rice (Goya is the only one I can find) Medium grain will absorb the liquid and make a creamy dish. This is the traditional rice used, but you could also use basmati as a quicker alternative
1 onion, chopped
And for legumes, 2 cloves of garlic plus bay leaves–
Legumes need to be par boiled –Chickpeas and beans should soak overnight & water should be changed before boiling. Then, they need to boil and the foam which forms should be removed and then add salt and boil until just tender (this can be done quite quickly with a pressure cooker –about 5 minutes). In a regular pot it should take about 30 minutes. You can also freeze par boiled legumes to easily have on hand at any time. Lentils are much quicker and easier. Throw them in a pot with water and heat until it boils. Strain it and continue with the recipe below.
Tomato paste OR Lemon for seasoning
1/4 cup EVOO (2tbsp to saute onion and 2 tbsp to finish the dish before serving)
1. Saute the onion in EVOO until soft (and add a tablespoon of tomato paste if using) and then the vegetable or legume for a few minutes. Season with salt and cover with water. As soon as the water boils, add the rice and cover to simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Add more water if needed. Once the rice is soft, it is ready! Check for salt, squeeze fresh lemon and drizzle some EVOO on top. Serve with Greek feta and bread OR rusk. Kali Orexi!! (Bon Apetite!)
Here is the recipe for Spanakorizo from my favorite blog–olivetomato.com, which has the most authentic recipes and advice on implementing the traditional Greek Mediterranean diet that I have found anywhere.
General recipe
For 1lb of spinach or leeks or cabbage or 1/2 lb dried legumes (lentils or chickpeas or beans)
1/3 cup medium grain rice (Goya is the only one I can find) Medium grain will absorb the liquid and make a creamy dish. This is the traditional rice used, but you could also use basmati as a quicker alternative
1 onion, chopped
And for legumes, 2 cloves of garlic plus bay leaves–
Legumes need to be par boiled –Chickpeas and beans should soak overnight & water should be changed before boiling. Then, they need to boil and the foam which forms should be removed and then add salt and boil until just tender (this can be done quite quickly with a pressure cooker –about 5 minutes). In a regular pot it should take about 30 minutes. You can also freeze par boiled legumes to easily have on hand at any time. Lentils are much quicker and easier. Throw them in a pot with water and heat until it boils. Strain it and continue with the recipe below.
Tomato paste OR Lemon for seasoning
1/4 cup EVOO (2tbsp to saute onion and 2 tbsp to finish the dish before serving)
1. Saute the onion in EVOO until soft (and add a tablespoon of tomato paste if using) and then the vegetable or legume for a few minutes. Season with salt and cover with water. As soon as the water boils, add the rice and cover to simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Add more water if needed. Once the rice is soft, it is ready! Check for salt, squeeze fresh lemon and drizzle some EVOO on top. Serve with Greek feta and bread OR rusk. Kali Orexi!! (Bon Apetite!)
Here is the recipe for Spanakorizo from my favorite blog–olivetomato.com, which has the most authentic recipes and advice on implementing the traditional Greek Mediterranean diet that I have found anywhere.
