Speedy Brown Rice, Pea, & Pea Shoot Risotto + Going Meatless for #foodrevolutionday

One of March 2015 challenges for the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Ambassadors (I'm the Monterey #FRD2015 rep!) is to...

Go Meatless.

Meat Free Week in the United Kingdom is March 23-29, 2015. While I knew that I didn't want to go meat free for the entire week - we are traveling that week and have friends staying with us - I planned to, at least, do some Meatless Mondays during the month of March. 

We have very few allergies in our family and I try really hard not to voice the words "we don't eat ____________." That includes meat. I prefer to clarify my restrictions; "we don't eat chicken that's been treated with hormones and antibiotics" or "we don't eat cattle from feed lots." But we can all stand to reduce our meat intake. 

Back when I was a vegetarian, for more than half a decade, I had a chart on my refrigerator about what foods to combine to make complete proteins: grains + legumes or greens + seeds, for example.

List One (foods low in sulfur) Green beans Asparagus Broccoli Potatoes Lentils Soybeans

List Two (foods low in tryptophan) Barley Mushrooms Chard Green peas Garbanzo beans Brown rice

List Three (foods low in lysine) Almonds Pumpkin seeds Pecans Yams Brown rice Corn

I recently adapted a Bean Ragoût to have the smokiness of ham by using lapsang souchong tea and the texture of bacon with crisped mushrooms on top. It was a wild success and they didn't even miss the meat.

And while my family isn't vegetarian, as I mentioned earlier, when I do serve a meal without meat, chicken, or fish, I make sure that I'm combining foods to make complete proteins. Brown rice plus green peas is one of our favorites. And this 'risotto' is super speedy and uses some of the delicious Spring flavors such as green garlic and pea shoots!

Speedy Brown Rice, Pea, & Pea Shoot Risotto

Ingredients

• brown rice (2 C uncooked)
• organic vegetable broth
• green garlic, trimmed and diced
• fresh shelled peas
• organic pea shoots
• 1/2 C marscarpone cream
• 1/2 C shredded parmesan
• freshly ground sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

Procedure

Cook the brown rice in the broth, or a mixture of broth and water, or water alone - your choice.

In a large flat-bottom pan, saute the green garlic in a splash of olive oil until it's softened and beginning to caramelize. Stir in the peas - as many as you want, I used about 2 C. Cook to preferred doneness. We prefer them with a little bit of bite.

Add in the cooked rice and two handfuls of pea shoots. Turn the heat off and stir to wilt the pea shoots. Stir in the cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with some more fresh pea shoots. Serve hot.

What do you think? Are you a vegetarian? If you're not, do you do Meatless Monday?