IN THE GI NEWS KITCHEN

THE GOOD CARBS COOKBOOK 
The Good Carbs Cookbook (by Alan Barclay, Kate McGhie and Philippa Sandall) published by Murdoch Books helps you choose the best fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, lentils, seeds, nuts and grains and explains how to use them in 100 refreshingly nourishing recipes to enjoy every day, for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and dessert. The recipes are easy to prepare, (mostly) quick to cook, long in flavour and full of sustaining goodness, so you feel fuller for longer. There is a nutritional analysis for each recipe and tips and helpful hints for the novice, nervous, curious or time-starved cook.

WILD AND BROWN RICE PILAF WITH MUSHROOMS AND ALMONDS 
A sensational combination of nutty chewy brown rice, and equally toothsome, nutty wild rice – the wild card in this pilaf. Mix the mushroom varieties to intensify flavour. Choose several mushroom varieties to intensify flavor and deliver a complex, deep, earthy mushroom taste: brown mushrooms provide dense texture and robust flavour; delicate buttons; slightly spongy aromatic shitake; or shell-shaped succulent oyster mushrooms. Instead of buttons, consider cremini, which are firm and earthy, with a little more oomph.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1¼ hours
Serves: 8

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 small carrot, scraped, finely chopped
1 small stick of celery, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 cups sliced mushrooms
Salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
1 cup brown rice
1 cup wild rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoon lemon zest from the zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
½ cup coarsely chopped raw almonds

Put the oil and butter in a large sturdy pot with a close fitting lid. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and gently cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften. Add the mushrooms, increase the heat to medium and cook and stir 5 minutes. Rinse the wild and brown rice, drain well and add to the pot. Stir until the grains are well coated with vegetable and oil mixture. Pour in the stock, (vegetable stock can replace chicken stock), bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to as low as you can. Put the lid on the pot (if it is not tightly fitting, cover the pot with foil and then ram the lid on) and cook for 50 minutes. It is important that you do not lift the lid during this time. • Remove the pot from the heat and lift the lid. Taste the rice—it should be al dente. If not, re-cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes. The rice should not appear wet and must have a slight crunch. Add salt and pepper to taste with the lemon zest and juice. Replace the lid, remove from the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Add the parsley and almonds and fluff with a fork.

Per serve 
1045kJ/250 calories; 8g protein; 13g fat (includes 2.5g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0.23); 22g available carbs (includes 2g sugars and 20g starches); 4g fibre; 370mg sodium; 390mg potassium; sodium : potassium ratio 0.96