Are you sitting down? Yes? Great, now let me introduce…. Inspiralized Rice!
I didn’t think it was possible, but one spiralized recipe gone terribly wrong, and I discovered that spiralized noodles can be made into rice-like “bits” that mimic the real thing. You’re going to want to Pin, Tweet, Instagram, and post this up on Facebook – everyone should know about Inspiralized Rice! It’s that good.
It all started off on a windy, chilly morning during the latter end of a snowstorm named Hercules. My boyfriend, Lu, was working from home in an effort to avoid the miserable commute into New York City trudging through the snow (he’s clearly grown soft since his years attending college in Massachusetts).
Taking advantage of Lu being home to taste test, I decided to recipe experiment with some ideas I had on a list. This list included boiling butternut squash noodles. Two minutes into boiling some freshly spiralized butternut squash, the noodles started to break apart into little pieces as I tried to transfer them to a bowl.
Instead of accepting this as a recipe fail (of which I have many!) a light bulb went on: these little bits of butternut squash look just like rice.
Some onions, garlic and vegetable broth later, there I had it: rice made of spiralized butternut squash! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll notice that I posted up two pictures – one of a risotto and one of a Spanish rice. Lu ate about four helpings!
If you don’t have a spiralizer yet, get one now – you’re going to want to make these rice recipes. The taste is luxuriously savory and the consistency is shockingly similar to that of normal rice. Best part? No wheat! No gluten! No heavy carbs or calories.
You won’t believe what other spiralized vegetables can be made into rice! I guess you’ll just have to tune in to Inspiralized to find out. Oh, and send some more snow storms towards Jersey City so I can have more snow days with my favorite taste tester.
Oh, and if you need help spiralizing butternut squash, check out my video:
Inspiralized Rice: Parmesan Squash Rice Risotto with Asparagus & Green Peas (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash peeled, Blade C
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- cooking spray
- 6-8 stalks of asparagus cut into thirds
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup diced red onion or white
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup cooked green peas
Instructions
- Place your butternut squash noodles (in batches) into a food processor and pulse until most of the big strands are chopped into “bits” similar to rice. Don’t process too much or else the bits will be too small. Once done, set aside the butternut squash noodle rice into a bowl.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add in the asparagus, lightly spray with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until asparagus turns bright green and is soft when forked. Set aside.
- While the asparagus is cooking, place another large skillet over medium-low heat and add in the olive oil. Once the oil heats, add in the garlic, cook for 30 seconds and then add in the onion. Cook until the onion starts to soften.
- Add in 2 tbsp of the vegetable broth and let reduce. Then, add in the squash rice, season with salt and pepper and stir. Add in 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and let reduce. Once reduced, add in another 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and let reduce. At this point, taste test the risotto. If the squash rice needs to cook more, add another 1/2 cup of broth. If it’s cooked enough, add in the Parmesan cheese, stir to combine and let cook for 30 seconds or until cheese melts fully into the squash rice.
- Add the asparagus and peas to the skillet with the risotto and stir to combine. Pour into bowls and enjoy!
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