This Wild Mushroom, Squash and Spinach Pilaf is great way to jazz up your midweek meal routine! It’s easy to make, totally delicious and just a touch unusual.
I have two foodie obsessions at the moment. One is one pot rice dishes, the other is autumn flavours and this dish neatly combines the two to create a delicious, comforting dish that is quick, easy and involves very little washing up!
A couple of weeks ago I shared one of my new favourite one pot rice dishes, my delicious Harissa Chicken and Butternut Squash Pilaf, and it turns out I am not the only one who likes it…it went a bit mad on my blog and is consequently one of my most popular recipes this month…so I thought you guys might like another one. 🙂
This Wild Mushroom, Squash and Spinach Pilaf is incredibly simple, it is also a great free from option as it is (takes a deep breath)…gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free, veggie, vegan and probably free from a whole load of other things besides. So great if you are entertaining a whole bunch of people with various dietary requirements, which I guess a lot of us will be doing over the festive season.
It also takes very little time or effort to throw together and looks absolutely wonderful. Plus it tastes great and is really super nutritious, thanks to the nutrient rich veggies, brown rice and spices – so also quite good if you are feeling a bit peaky over the festive season or you feel like you need a bit of a ‘good’ day after some over-indulging!!
If plant based dishes don’t quite do it for you, this would also be a great one to make after Christmas and serve with some leftover turkey, chicken or ham.
I love wild mushrooms and they taste really great in this dish. You can buy boxes of them in the supermarket these days, so they are not too hard to find, but if you want something really special, check out your local grocer who may have some locally foraged ones…or even go foraging yourself…if you know what you are doing, obviously!! I am afraid this easy peasy (read ‘lazy’) foodie is not really the foraging type, so these were bought from Tesco! But if you can’t get hold of wild mushrooms (or you just don’t like them) substitute for normal ones instead.
A great wine match for this would be a Rioja Reserva or a similar style wine from another Spanish region. If you prefer white, a Sauvignon Blanc or Gewurztraminer would work well here too.
One Pot Wild Mushroom, Squash and Spinach Pilaf
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 100 g wild mushrooms e.g. chanterelles (or normal mushrooms, sliced)
- 400 g butternut squash diced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed or grated
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika (or normal, if you don’t have smoked)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick broken in half (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes or one fresh red chilli sliced (or to taste)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 300 g easy cook brown rice (see note 1)
- 600 ml boiling water
- 200 g spinach
Instructions
- Place the olive oil and onions in a large frying pan or sauté pan and fry gently for 3 minutes with the lid on until softened, but not browned.
- Remove the lid, add the wild mushrooms and fry for 3 more minutes.
- Add the garlic, butternut squash and spices, plus some salt and pepper and fry for 2 more minutes.
- Next add the rice and water and mix together thoroughly. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a low simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed and the rice and butternut squash are tender.
- Stir in the spinach and allow to wilt slightly, then serve.
Notes
- This recipe uses easy cook brown rice, which takes roughly 20 minutes to cook. If you can’t get easy cook brown rice, use normal brown rice and check the packet for cooking times.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Absolutely love the sound of this Eb, perfect flavours and so blinking easy to make! I mean 5 easy steps for a yummy family meal – what more could a girl ask for at 5PM when the hubby is ready for his tea. I’ve actually started shopping in Tesco of late, and saw those mushrooms on my last visit so may well have to pop them into my trolly next week.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Angela – it really is as easy peasy as it sounds. I am obsessed with pilaf/biryani type meals at the moment – they are just so quick and easy and taste so amazing. You can tell you’re from the North though, 5pm and we southerners have barely finished lunch 😉 Really recommend the mushrooms 🙂 Eb x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Hahaha, actually I must admit that we don’t have our evening meal until 7PM as Mr E doesn’t get home til 6.30! I would much prefer to eat earlier though. As a child mum used to make my and my brother’s tea for about 4.30 / 5PM, though I must admit that when I started uni and didn’t get home til turned 6PM some days (I used to travel into Uni from my parent’s home) I was really ready for something to eat.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
My husband and I had very different habits when we first met – he was a total southerner and ate at about 8pm, whilst my family had more northerly eating habits and ate about 5.30 (I’m actually a bit of a mongrel as I have lived all over the place – from as far north as Newcastle, to as far south as Cornwall). When we were first married we generally ate late as we both worked long hours, but now we eat about 6.15 so we can eat with the kids. But my husband still often complains it’s far too early!! Eb x
Corina says
This is such a lovely dish for autumn and winter – I do really love squash and spinach together and paprika and cumin are some of my favourite spices. Once December starts I certainly often feel I need to eat some lighter healthier meals to try and counteract all the cakes, mince pies etc that I can’t help eating! Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Isn’t it just? Squash, spinach and mushrooms are just such a fab combination and together with the cumin, paprika and cinnamon it just makes something so, so special – yet wonderfully healthy all at the same time! As you say, perfect to offset all the Christmas indulgences!! Thanks for your kind comments. 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Ooooh Eb I love your one pot meals and this one is no exception. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kirsty. Totally agree – one pot meals are awesome! Eb x
Mandy says
This sounds really lovely Eb – must give it a try. I’ve got a Christmassy pilaf coming up soon too – love cooking everything in one pot X
Eb Gargano says
Me too!! It makes life so much easier. Love the sound of a Christmassy pilaf – I will look out for that one 🙂 Eb x
Katy (What Katy Said) says
Yum! Autumn and rice are my favourite too so I will definitely have to give this a try! #FreeFromFridays
Eb Gargano says
It is so delicious, Katy, and super autumnal. If you like rice and autumn, you will love this! Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
This sounds so delicious, I love one pot rice dishes too although I don’t make them nearly as often as I should.
I’m completely with you on the foraging front, I would almost definitely poison myself if I attempted to collect random wild mushrooms. I may branch out to collecting some elderflower next year as I discovered a tree at school which I think they’d let me have a bit of, but that’s about my limit.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Charlotte – one pot dishes are awesome!! Nearly as good as traybakes 😉 I would definitely poison myself if I tried foraging – probably even if I tried foraging for elderflowers – I’d probably end up picking cow parsley buy mistake. I trust myself to pick blackberries but that’s as far as I go! Eb x
Mel says
Oh my goodness Eb, can I move in with you? Everything you cook is my kind of food! I love chanterelle mushrooms, they add so much flavour to any dish, and yours certainly sounds delicious. Pinning now! Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Eb Gargano says
Haha – you are welcome to, Mel, but I’m not sure you’d want to today – we are currently having our bathroom redone and I have a poorly child who has been sick 5 times already today. 🙁 Maybe postpone your move to next week 😉 Chanterelles are gorgeous aren’t they? Just the best flavour – I’ve been sticking them in everything lately!! Thanks for your lovely kind comments. Eb x
Alex says
Wow I just made this for dinner and it was amazing! Thank you so much for this delightful and flavorful recipe. The hint of cinnamon was a pleasant surprise.
I made a few tweaks by using 1 1/2 cups of white jasmine rice, a bag of Trader Joe’s butternut squash that’s pre-cut, and an assortment of wild mushrooms I picked up from my local farmers market.
I greatly look forward to making your other recipes.
Eb Gargano says
Hi Alex – thank you so much for your kind comments about my recipe and especially for taking the time to let me know. It’s so nice to hear you enjoyed it so much! Love your tweaks too – I bet those mushrooms were fab! Do let me know what you think if you make any of my other recipes! 🙂
Elizabeth Evans says
Hi, I’ve spent the last three days making three of your delicious traybakes, chicken, halloumi then tonight sausage! All were fab so thank you! Thinking of trying this pilaf tomorrow but wondering if I could use up a bag of frozen butternut squash I have rather than fresh. Would you just add it a bit later? If you were going to cheat with frozen how would you adjust? Thanks again. Elizabeth
Eb Gargano says
Yay! So pleased you are enjoying my recipes 🙂 Thanks for this lovely feedback. Yes, you could definitely use frozen butternut squash in this pilaf. I’m not sure whether you are going to add the butternut squash frozen or defrosted and whether it’s pre-cooked or not, so I can’t give precise timings. But I would just add the butternut squash in at the point it needs to be added for the length of cooking time in needs – so for example, if you know the butternut squash needs 20 mins to cook, add it in 20 mins before the end. You might find it falls apart slightly (I find frozen BNS goes softer than cooked from scratch), but it will still taste good! Eb 🙂
Elizabeth Evans says
Thank you so much for replying so quickly! I’d actually settled on doing your musroom risotto in the end tonight but after trawling around my local Sainsbury’s and Tesco I can’t find dried mushrooms anywhere!!? Pilaf it is! Thanks again.
Eb Gargano says
No problem – how annoying you couldn’t find dried mushrooms! Hope you enjoyed the pilaf 😀
Donna-in-TO says
We made this with leftover butternut squash and rice, using fresh mushrooms, onion and spinach + modified cooking time – SO DELICIOUS!! We will be making again, from scratch…. May have also overdone the spice a bit (added some extra chilli flakes, and substituted chilli powder for one of the paprika’s – since didn’t have smoked) but sour cream helped, and was so so good!
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this so much 😀 Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Eb 🙂
Kristina says
Absolutely delicious. I topped it with toasted cashew nuts for a bit of crunch.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that 😀 And I totally love the idea of topping with toasted cashews! I might have to try that next time I make this as I ADORE toasted cashews. Eb 🙂