One thing the Dickinson College Farm loves to do is host cooking classes for our students on campus! We bring professors and other farm friends in to teach a recipe, put the students to work, and together enjoy their creation after all is said and done. We love to highlight the College Farm’s organic veggies in these recipes! As a treat to our blog readers, we will begin posting the cooking class recipes so you can follow along at home. Our first class of the fall 2024 semester was held on October 29th and featured a “Clean Out the Fridge Rice Casserole”. College Farm ingredients included kohlrabi, carrots, celery, onion, kale, garlic, bell pepper, and parsley. As you can see in the recipe below, this casserole is flexible for the type of greens and sturdy vegetables used, and you can swap out the roasted chicken for leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving! Give this recipe a try and enjoy it with your family and friends 🙂 

Clean-Out-the-Fridge Rice Casserole                                                                       Adrienne Su

Serves 6 to 8

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil (or the packing oil from sun-dried tomatoes, if it happens to be around)
  • 1-1/2 to 2 lbs. leftover cooked chicken or turkey meat (or meat from a rotisserie chicken), ideally from a brined, roasted bird
  • 4-8 oz. leafy greens (spinach, kale leaves, chard leaves, chopped chard stems, radish leaves, and/or turnip greens), washed thoroughly to remove all sand and drained
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 2 cups sturdy vegetables, minced/diced (carrots, celery, thin kale or collard stems, turnips, daikon, kohlrabi, celery root, and/or leeks)
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced (divided)
  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • 3 cups chicken broth (feel free to mix in the various flavorful elixirs that happen to be around: meat or seafood stock, leftover white wine, leftover juices from canned tomatoes, bean-cooking liquid, cooking liquid from leafy greens, kimchi juice; it’s also fine to top up the broth mixture with water if you’re short by a cup or so)
  • 1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice (Lundberg Organic Long-Grain White frees you of the rinsing step; avoid clumping varieties, such as jasmine)
  • 1 Tbsp. paprika
  • 2 cups quick-cooking vegetables (diced bell peppers, diced zucchini or yellow squash, frozen peas, fresh or frozen corn kernels)
  • ÂĽ cup minced, pitted olives (or capers, or any of these, minced: anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes, smoked salmon)
  • 4 to 8 oz. grated cheese (go closer to 4 oz. if you use an assertive grating cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano; you can go up to 8 oz. with Cheddar or Gruyère or mozzarella)
  • Salt and pepper (kosher salt is assumed here; use a bit less if you’re using table salt)
  • 2/3 cup panko (or crumbs made from your bread leftovers: toast until brittle, then whir in blender or food processor—a few chunks are fine, as is having slightly less than 2/3 cup or as much as 1-1/2 cups)
  • ½ cup minced parsley
  • 1 lemon or lime

 

  1. Cut the chicken or turkey into bite-sized pieces and set aside. (If your kitchen is hot and/or you’re taking your time, cover and refrigerate.)
  2. Put the leafy greens in a large microwave-safe bowl with residual washing water still clinging to them. It’s OK to pack them tightly. Cover and microwave on high until they wilt (1-2 minutes for regular spinach, up to 5 minutes for kale if it’s tough). Drain, saving the cooking liquid to use as some of the broth if you wish, then chop the greens roughly (you can do this with kitchen shears, right in the colander) and set aside.
  3. In a large, heavy Dutch oven, warm 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, sturdy vegetables, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring now and then, until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add 3 garlic cloves’ worth of minced garlic, cook and stir for another minute, and then add flour. Cook and stir until flour is no longer raw, about a minute. Add the milk and broth, cover, raise heat to high, and bring to a boil. (This will go faster if you warm the broth in the microwave while the vegetables are softening.)
  4. While the mixture is coming to a boil, wash the rice if needed, and drain well. (If you do this ahead, don’t leave the rice sitting in water or it may break down too much during cooking.)
  5. Add the rice to the boiling broth, adjust the heat so that liquid is at a simmer, and season with paprika. If you used unsalted broth, add a tablespoon of salt. Cover the pot and cook over medium-low until rice is just tender, about 20 minutes.
  6. While rice is cooking, put oven rack in upper-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the panko, parsley, remaining minced garlic, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Once rice is done, mix in the reserved poultry, quick-cooking vegetables, reserved leafy greens, olives, and cheese. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper, and paprika. (This is also a good time to add any seasonings of your choice, which the ingredients might point to, such as cumin and Mexican oregano if your leftover poultry came from a Mexican dish, or thyme and crushed fennel seeds if things are leaning toward France, etc.) Stir mixture gently but thoroughly, taking care not to smash delicate add-ins, and transfer to a 9×13” baking dish. Spread evenly in the dish.
  8. Top with the panko mixture, then bake uncovered until the topping is crisp and brown and everything is heated through, about 20 minutes. 
  9. Serve with the lemon or lime, cut into wedges.

Good with a simple green salad or a light vegetable soup.

Even though this is made from leftovers, it makes great leftovers!

Other ideas for add-ins:

  • IN STEP 2:
    • well-washed beet greens and stems if you don’t mind the rice turning pink, in which case, leftover red wine is also fine in the broth mixture
  • IN STEP 3:
    • frozen shelled edamame
    • diced butternut squash
  • IN STEP 8:
    • cherry tomatoes, halved, seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and broiled until collapsing, about 5 minutes
    • coarsely chopped kimchi
    • cooked beans: chickpeas are especially nice because they hold their shape, but black, pinto, red kidney, etc. are all good
    • minced scallions (both white and green parts)
    • the last bit of your bag of coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrot)
    • the last bit of your container of baby arugula or baby kale

MORE ANTI-WASTE TIPS:

  • If you want to include a small amount of something but know the remainder is likely to rot in your fridge, buy only the quantity you need from a salad bar: olives, celery, carrot, bell pepper, red onion, and spinach can usually be found there.
  • This recipe can make use of the bits of a roast chicken that sometimes get forgotten: the “oysters” in the back, the breast meat left clinging to the bones after carving. These are often very flavorful because of their proximity to the bone, especially if the bird was brined before roasting.
  • There is no shame in using chicken-broth concentrate if you don’t have time to make stock. The brand Better Than Bouillon is good.
  • If you find yourself habitually throwing certain items away (such as canned beans generated by recipes that use 3/5 of the can), start a bag in your freezer for add-ins, and mark the bag with your plans for it. Make sure not to mix items that are added in different steps. Then go to your calendar and enter the date you’re going to make the casserole so that these bits don’t languish for years in the freezer.
  • You can freeze grated cheese in the same way.
  • A vegetarian version of this dish can be made with highly seasoned tofu in place of the chicken and good vegetable stock.
  • If you have an open log of goat cheese that’s headed for fridge-languishing, dot the finished casserole with it before baking.
  • Leftover meat includes restaurant leftovers! As long as the flavors are compatible, take home that last kebab or meatball that everyone was too polite to claim, cut into small pieces, and include in step 1.

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