Vegan Sausage, Red Pepper and Brown Rice Casserole

An easy rich rice, red pepper and sausage casserole. This brown rice casserole is a one-pot dish with a tomato and spiced sauce. Make sure you have some crusty bread to mop it up!

VEGGIE SAUSAGE, RED PEPPER AND BROWN RICE CASSEROLE

I'm drooling just thinking about this casserole and how good it was. 

It's a brown rice and sausage casserole with a spicy tomato sauce.

I was planning on serving it with veg, but we ended up just serving it with crusty Danish bread to mop up the juices. 

It was delicious and really filling. I'm looking forward to trying this again very soon. 

 Disclosure: This recipe was created to promote Riso Gallo Rice. I visited their Headquarters and they sent me some of their range to try. They did not expect a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

 

RISO GALLO

I was inspired to make this rice dish after a trip to Milan and a visit to Riso Gallo, the rice people. 

 

Riso Gallo are a family name in Italy, with a reputation for superior quality rice. 

They are the brand that chefs and anyone who really enjoys cooking look for. They're famous for their risotto rice, but they actually have a huge range of products including mixed grain products such as spelt, barley and quinoa. 

They also sell a pronto range for quick midweek meals. A good selection of their range is available from Ocado. Other supermarkets stock their products, but you won't find such a big range. 

Try your favourite online supermarket, type Gallo into the search box and add some to your basket to try.

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RISO GALLO IN MILAN

Along with a few of my blogging buddies, I visited the Riso Gallo headquarters in Robbio Lomellin near Milan. 

The company was established in Genoa by Giovanni Battista in 1856, but they later moved to Milan. They are still owned and run by the same family. 

The charming Carlo Preve showed us around and we started our tour by attending the morning rice check, which is in addition to the standard checks in their manufacturing process. 

Yes, they check the quality of the rice every morning! These people really care about their rice.

We visited their manufacturing plant to see the processes the rice goes through and how they test the quality of it there too. 

We had a quick look in their development kitchen and the area where testers try new dishes and rice blends. Of course that's hush hush, so I won't be sharing any of that.

RICE MARKET

We also visited a rice market where farmers or their representatives meet each week to decide the price of rice. 

There's a rice market every day in the region and the price is constantly changing. It's a total bidding war. 

Samples of rice are checked and the bidding begins. 

Riso Gallo buy their rice from local farmers at this market and a transaction happened while we were there, it was very exciting.

RICE LUNCH

We had lunch at AntoeRobi Restaurant where the chef used a variety of Riso Gallo rice and grains to produce a heavenly lunch. 

 

I'm going to try and recreate some of the dishes myself, but that's for another day. 

I was served veggie dishes, but the other members of the group weren't veggie so they tweaked the recipes for me.

We started with a creamy rice salad in a homemade mayonnaise with olives on a slice of grilled Amalfi Lemon. This was made with long grained rice. 

The next dish was a warm rice salad in little jars cooked with a good flavoured stock and mixed with micro bites of vegetables and fresh dill. This was made with Gallo Riso 3 Grain Rice (rice, spelt and barley). 

The next dish (not in the photo) was a fresh truffle and parmesan risotta made with Gran Riserva, which is a risotto rice that is matured for a year. 

We finished with a rice pudding topped with a strawberry puree which was made with Riso Gallo Special Dessert Rice, oh and I must not forget the glass of Limoncello that they make on the premises. 

It was all delicious and it was really interesting to try a wide variety of rice and to see the big difference between them. 

I don't think I really appreciated what a wide variety of rice is available and how important it is that you choose the right type.

WHICH RICE IS BEST IN A CASSEROLE?

 

The answer is brown rice. It has more fibre than white rice and has a bit more bite.

Riso Gallo kindly sent me a selection of their rice, including their brown rice, to try. 

Some of their rice is pre-prepared and flavoured which is great for midweek meals. I particularly loved the quick curried rice they sell, but unfortunately they don't sell it here in the UK yet. 

Cooper and I loved it. It was creamy and had similar flavours to my coconut and spnach dal.

For my casserole I used Riso Gallo brown rice. 

When cooked into my dish it still had a little bit of a chew which was rather nice. 

 

A soft creamy rice like an arborio wouldn't have been good in this sausage dish. You need that bit of substance. 

 

I also used Linda McCartney sausages which are suitable for vegans, but you can use your own favourite sausages and added red peppers and spices for flavour.

 

 

CAN I USE A WHITE RICE? 

You may use a white rice instead if you like.

A white rice like basmati would be good in this dish, but it will cook quicker and not have that nutty bite.

If you are using basmati rice, check on it earlier in the bake to see if it is ready.

Just keep an eye on it.

 

MORE ONE-POT BAKES

If you love an easy one pot or bake like this try:

 

• Veggie Sausage, Lentil & Red Pepper Bake, 
• Sticky Red Onion Sausage Bake with Gravy 
• Rich Tomato & Roast Vegetable Pasta Bake. 
• Mushroom Rice Bake with Gravy

CAN YOU STORE LEFTOVER SAUSAGE RICE CASSEROLE?

Cool leftovers quickly by removing from the pot to cool. It's really important to do this with rice.

Chill in the fridge in an airtight container as soon as possible and keep for no more than 2-3 days. 

 

Reheat well.

Next, check out Easy Vegan Rice Recipes for Lunch or Dinner.

 

 

READERS FAVOURITES

 

One of my readers made this casserole and was happy for me to share their photo. Doesn't it look wonderful?

 

 

 

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dinner

vegan

Yield: 3-4

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Vegan Sausage, Red Pepper and Brown Rice Casserole

An easy rich rice, red pepper and sausage casserole. This brown rice casserole is a one-pot dish with a tomato and spiced sauce. Make sure you have some crusty bread to mop it up!

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red bell pepper, halved, deseeded and sliced
• 8 veggie sausages
• 360g / 2 cups brown rice
• 1.25 litres / 5 cups vegetable stock (add more as you go if you think you needs it, hot stock or hot water)
• 400g / 2 cups tinned chopped tomatoes
• 5 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• a good grinding of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. In a casserole pan saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, then add the peppers and cook gently for a few more minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add the sausages and cook until starting to brown.
3. If the vegetables are catching or sticking a little, you can lift them out into a bowl and add them back in once the sausages are cooked, but I didn't need to.
4. Add the rice, tomatoes, puree, stock and spices.
5. Cook for about 30 minutes until the rice is cooked, but still has a little bite. Add a some more stock or hot water if you need to.
6. Serve with vegetables and some crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
7. Enjoy!

Notes:

You can also chop the sausages into bite sized pieces if you prefer that.

If you don't want to use brown rice you could use basmati, but it may not take as long to cook, so keep an eye on it.

Cool leftovers quickly by removing from the pot to cool. Chill in the fridge in an airtight container as soon as possible and keep for just 2-3 days. Reheat well.

To spice it up further, you could also add some chilli powder or flakes.

Calories

484.92

Fat (grams)

24.60

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.86

Carbs (grams)

47.82

Fiber (grams)

7.36

Net carbs

40.46

Sugar (grams)

5.61

Protein (grams)

25.40

Sodium (milligrams)

1013.88

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00