substitutions for rice / pasta in casseroles?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone tried substituting quinoa or farro or maybe even wheat berries or barley for the pasta or rice in a casserole? If so and you have recipes you'd be willing to share, I would appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

I really like the Ancient Grains for Modern Meals cookbook. May be available at the library if you want to test drive it first but a really good book.

[Anonymous]

I like pearl barley.

Take a tough cut of beef like chuck and cube it. dust in flour. Then brown it on each side, and remove from pot.
fry up some onions with garlic and herbs in the pot.
Add an anchovy and mush it till it dissolves.
Add cut up veggies like carrot and celery
deglaze with wine and stock, maybe tomatoes if you like
add back meat and pearl barley
simmer or bake in oven for a couple of hours until done.

[Anonymous]

Here's a recipe I found on Pinterest for a quinoa. Mac n Cheese. I have a board on Pinterest just for quinoa recipes.

http://reallyfrompinterest.blogspot.com/2012/07/quinoa-mac-cheese.html

[Anonymous]

How about Polenta as a substitute?

[Anonymous]

Quinoa or pearl barley.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the suggestions- it's funny that a PP suggested the Ancient Grains cookbook. I ordered a copy online last week and am waiting for it to arrive.

[Anonymous]

We like to substitute shredded cauliflower for rice in everything.

[Anonymous]

I think it's better to start with a recipe that starts with those ingredients vs. trying to substitute b/c cooking times/textures can be different.

This one's pretty good: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Feta-Wheat-Berry-Salad-11141

This website has a lot of recipes, but I haven't tried any of them yet:
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/main-dishes/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We like to substitute shredded cauliflower for rice in everything.

Great idea. Does it get mushy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Polenta as a substitute?

this sounds gross. Any grain will do fine, I do it all the time but I don't have a recipe I just change whatever I am using at the time

[Anonymous]

Quinoa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Polenta as a substitute?

this sounds gross. Any grain will do fine, I do it all the time but I don't have a recipe I just change whatever I am using at the time

Polenta is a delicious substitute. But I got the feeling OP was looking for "healthier" grains, and polenta is yet more corn in the diet.

[Anonymous]

OP here- I WISH I could do cauliflower, but I can't. It really upsets my stomach. I think I have some sort of sensitivity to it-- and otherwise I eat everything.

And yes, to the PP who said I seem to be looking for healthy substitutions, I am. And I really like the taste of things like quinoa and barley, so I figured I'd ask to see if anyone had tried and true recipes.

Thank you for the links!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I WISH I could do cauliflower, but I can't. It really upsets my stomach. I think I have some sort of sensitivity to it-- and otherwise I eat everything.

And yes, to the PP who said I seem to be looking for healthy substitutions, I am. And I really like the taste of things like quinoa and barley, so I figured I'd ask to see if anyone had tried and true recipes.

Thank you for the links!

Try beano before cauliflower.