Mushrooms can be an excellent addition to your heart healthy diet and this delicious side dish can easily be transformed into a main dish.
Ingredients and Method
Mushrooms can be an excellent addition to your heart healthy diet and this delicious side dish can easily be transformed into a main dish.
Serves 4 as a side dish or a more-ish lunch
Nutritional content serving:
1 045kJ | 31g carbohydrate | 9g protein | 10g fat | 4.5g fibre
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked, mixed brown and wild rice
1 onion, chopped into chunks
1 clove of garlic, chopped
A bit of olive oil for frying (use a pump spray)
250 g portobellini mushrooms, cut into rough chunks
120 g wild and exotic mushrooms such as shiitake, enoki and porcini when in season otherwise add some white button mushrooms
A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
50 g walnuts or pecan nuts, lightly roasted
50 g reduced-fat feta cheese
Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute’ the onion until soft and starting to brown.
2. Add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes over high heat until just cooked.
3. Stir the mushroom mixture through the cooked rice, sprinkle the parsley, nuts and feta over and serve with a dollop of Bulgarian yoghurt and some extra herb leaves like pungent rocket.
Fantastic Fungi:
Mushrooms are low in kilojoules, full of flavour, and packed with compounds that reduce cholesterol and improve immunity. Tufts University in Massachusetts studied the effects of eating white button mushrooms on the human immune systems and found that a diet of mushrooms might promote innate immunity — the body’s first line of defence — against viruses. But don’t underestimate exotic mushrooms like Shiitake; these little earthly delights may boost the immune system thanks to the carbohydrate lentinan, which has antiviral and antimicrobial properties.
