BROWN RICE OR PASTA ?

by Roderick Vallo

BROWN RICE OR PASTA?- Healthier dishes prepared in a simple way.

Sometimes, we tend to choose what to eat for carb intake between rice and pasta. While both of them are nutritious, we find ways to enjoy our meal by eating variety of foods. Hence, rice is the most preferred variety and if you want it healthier, Brown rice is the best due to its nutritional value. While we craved for pasta, is there any pasta products made from brown rice. The answer is. Yes, there is- Try Eco Organics Brown rice penne. It’s GMO free, Gluten Free, Diary free and it’s Vegan.

And now the next challenges are how to cook brown rice pasta? Luckily I have a friend who is an Executive Chef in the Maldives. I requested him to cook for me a simple dish using Brown rice penne. Without any hesitation, he said yes and ask me to buy ingredients.  We cooked together and tell funny stories in between. In fact, we took more time to chat rather than preparation and cooking. At the end, we shared 2 different pasta dishes with a simple mix of ingredients cooking in "Ala carte" style.

I want to share with you this 2 simple and easy to make brown rice penne pasta dishes that are also easy on the budget: I don’t know their names but I will guarantee you, they are so tasty an nutritious!

Here they are:

1.) Brown Rice Penne with Mushroom, Spinach and Cherry tomato

Ingredients:

Garlic- Sliced thinly

Onion- Chopped

Cooking Cream

White mushroom

Spinach

Cherry Tomato

Brown Rice Penne 200g

Salt & pepper- Season to taste

 

Direction for cooking:

  • Cook the Brown rice penne following the instructions in the label. Don’t overcook. Drain the pasta and set aside.
  • Sauté garlic followed by onion in the pan
  • Add Sliced mushroom, Cherry tomato and a dash of salt and cook for awhile
  • Add Brown Rice Penne and spinach and mix
  • Pour the cooking cream on desired amount.
  • Seasoned to taste by adding more salt and pepper. Cook for another 2 mins.

Serve hot and enjoy in 2 servings.

 

 

2.) Brown Rice Penne with Tuna, Broccoli and Cherry tomato

 

Ingredients:

Garlic- Sliced thinly

Onion- Chopped

Cooking Cream

Fresh tuna

Broccoli

Cherry Tomato

Brown Rice Penne 200g

Salt & pepper- Season to taste

 

Direction for cooking:

a.) Cook the Brown rice penne following the instructions in the label. Don’t overcook. Drain the pasta and set aside. Blanch the Broccoli and set aside. Fry the tuna (medium rare) and set aside.

b.)Sauté garlic followed by onion in the pan

c.) Add Broccoli, Cherry tomato and a dash of salt and cook for awhile

d.) Add Brown Rice Penne and mix

e.) Pour the cooking cream on desired amount. Just to cover the ingredients.

f.) Seasoned to taste by adding more salt and pepper. Cook for another 1 minute.

                g.) Put in a plate and place the tuna on top.

Serve hot and enjoy in 2 servings.

 

I really enjoy meeting again this friend of mine at the same time satisfying my cravings in pasta. We are looking forward to have a cooking session again in the future and of course I will also share this recipe again to you.  Many thanks to **Chef Peter Siegenthaler for the wonderful penne dishes you have made and all the cooking wisdom you have shared.

 

**Executive Chef Peter has over 40 years of experience and served in some of the world’s top hotel brands like Sofitel and Hyatt group. He was also a former consultant of UFS in the Maldives.

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