Gluten-free Rice Rounds

At the end of this week, school finishes for the year and we commence the 6-week summer break. So, honest to goodness, I’m not all that interested in developing new lunchbox recipes over the next few weeks. We’re all focussing on Christmas and fretting about how our poor metabolisms are going to cope with all the Christmas functions between now and the 25th.

Maybe you’ll be doing some entertaining and maybe you’ll be concerned about how gluten-free catering impacts the hip pocket at this time of year. And maybe you’ve got some junior gluten-free guests who are tricky to feed, especially when it comes to canapés. And maybe you’re just time-poor.

That’s you? It’s me too.

Here’s a recipe that may save you. These rice rounds are quick and easy to make, cheap, and they make a great canapé. There’s an endless range of possibilities for the toppings and if you’re dealing with a fussy eater, get them to make their own. That may be just the trick to inspire them to eat.

I developed this recipe for the November/December 2014 issue of Nourish Magazine.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup sushi (short grain) rice

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ cup Greek yoghurt

Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius (conventional oven) or 160° Celsius (fan-forced oven). Grease and line a 20 x 30 centimetre slice tray.

Put rice in a large saucepan with 2 cups cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

Transfer rice to a large bowl. Add egg, yoghurt and salt. Stir to combine.

Spoon rice mixture into slice tray. Spread out the mixture and use the back of a spoon to firmly press down until rice evenly covers the tray.

Cover tray firmly with aluminium foil.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.

Once cool, use a round 48 millimetre scone or cookie cutter to cut the rice slab into rounds.

Serve with toppings of your choice, for example

• Hommus, cucumber and cherry tomato
• Basil pesto, red capsicum and parmesan cheese
• Beetroot dip, cucumber and grated carrot
• Avocado, cooked chicken breast and spring onion

For a grown-up canapé, stir 1 or 2 teaspoons of curry paste through the rice mixture before cooking. Top with perfectly pink slices of lamb (at room temperature), a dollop of yoghurt and some mint leaves.

Serve immediately.

Makes 24-26 rounds.