061 / 75 · Make the Most of What Is Left
Crisp Rice-Crusted Mushroom Pie
4 substantial wedges, one-quarter of the pie per serving · Active 30 min · Total 1 hr 10 min
Print recipe · PDFCooked rice becomes the shell of this pie rather than disappearing into another mixed casserole. Baking it first gives the edges a toasty, slightly chewy finish. Inside, browned mushrooms and white beans sit in a thick milk gravy. The pie cuts most neatly after a short rest, so leave time for that pause instead of trying to lift a steaming wedge straight from the oven.
Make a shell, not a layer of loose rice
Break up cold rice before adding the egg. Clumps make weak spots in the shell and leave some grains without enough binder. The mixture will not behave like pastry: use the back of a spoon to press it firmly across the bottom and partway up the sides. A shallow metal pie pan encourages browning more reliably than a deep casserole dish. Small gaps can be patched with a few extra grains from the thicker parts of the rim. The first bake should leave the surface dry and the edge lightly golden.
Water belongs in the gravy, not under the crust
Mushrooms release a surprising amount of liquid. Give them a wide pan and let that liquid evaporate before adding flour and milk. A crowded saucepan produces pale mushrooms floating in their own juices, which makes the rice shell soften quickly. The finished filling should fall heavily from the spoon, rather than run like soup. White beans give the gravy body without needing a large quantity of cheese or cream. Mash only a small spoonful if the filling needs help thickening; leave most beans whole.
Use the rice once, then finish the pie
This is a useful destination for rice that was cooled promptly and refrigerated, not a way to recover rice left standing on the stove. Use rice cooked within the previous 24 hours. The pie is its reheating, so plan to eat the complete batch at this meal and scale down if four portions are more than needed. You can chop the mushrooms and measure the sauce ingredients before taking the rice from the refrigerator. That keeps the cold ingredient cold until the oven is ready.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain cooked long-grain rice, promptly chilled and used within 24 hours (300 g)
- 1 large egg (50 g without shell), beaten
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (30 ml), divided
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (8 g), for the crust
- 10 1/2 oz mushrooms (300 g), thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion (150 g), finely diced
- 1 can white beans, 15 oz/425 g, drained and rinsed (240 g drained)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (20 g), for the filling
- 1 cup milk (240 ml)
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard (5 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g), divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (0.5 g)
Set out
9-inch/23 cm shallow metal pie pan, Large skillet, Mixing bowl, Wooden spoon, Food thermometer, Oven mitts
Allergens
Egg, Milk, Wheat. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Brush the pie pan with 1 teaspoon/5 ml of the oil. Break up the cold rice and mix it with the egg, 8 g flour and half the salt. Press firmly over the bottom and about 1 inch/2.5 cm up the sides of the pan.
- Brush the rice with another 1 teaspoon/5 ml oil. Bake for 20 minutes, until dry on top with lightly golden edges.
- Meanwhile heat the remaining 4 teaspoons/20 ml oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until their liquid evaporates and they begin to brown. Add onion, lower to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the 20 g flour for 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk, then add beans, mustard, remaining salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 4–5 minutes until thick enough to mound on a spoon.
- Spoon the hot filling into the baked shell. Return to the oven for 20–25 minutes, until the shell is browned and the center of the filling and thickest crust reaches 165°F/74°C. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting into four wedges.
A measured filling prevents waste
Drain the beans before weighing. One typical 15 oz/425 g can provides about 240 g drained beans; buy and compare by the amount you can actually use, not only the liquid-filled can weight.
Ingredient labels
Prepared mustard may contain mustard seed; check its label and the bean label for additional allergens.
A useful detail
The base recipe starts with already cooked rice. Initial rice cooking and chilling are not included in the 70-minute total. If cooking rice for this dish, follow its packet, cool promptly in a shallow container and refrigerate; allow that preparation time separately.
Another way
- Use drained canned chickpeas instead of white beans; roughly mash one-quarter before adding them to the gravy.
- For a smaller batch, halve every ingredient and make two rice-shell pies in two 5-inch/13 cm metal pie pans; start checking the filled pies after 15 minutes and still verify 165°F/74°C.
Keep it well
Use only rice that was cooled promptly, kept at 40°F/4°C or below and cooked within the previous 24 hours. This bake reheats the rice once; eat the pie promptly and do not cool and reheat it again. Other prepared ingredients do not extend the rice storage window.