1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
1 – 16 oz can drained/rinsed red kidney beans
1/4 cup favorite salsa
1 tsp fennel seed – toast in a touch of oil in a hot skillet for a couple of minutes
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cups marinara (spaghetti sauce)
6 slices of soy cheese (optional)
Hoagie rolls, burger buns or experiment with hearty types of bread! You can also wrap in tortillas for easy meals.
Mash beans and mix well with salsa, fennel seed, and basil. Mix with short grain brown rice. Shape into 2″ balls and fry in just enough oil to coat a heavy skillet. Slightly flatten neatballs after you turn them and cook until crisp and golden brown.
Cut rolls or buns lengthwise and place 2 or 3 neatballs on bread. Top with soy cheese, and a couple of tablespoons of marinara to cover neatballs. Place subs under broiler until hot, and edges of bread start to brown. You can also toast the bread a little before topping with neatballs and sauce.
Yields 4-6 open-faced sandwiches. Enjoy!
TIME SAVERS
Cook the brown rice the night before you are going to use it and this meal will be ready in about 20 minutes. Use one cup of rice to about 2.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low heat for about 45 to 50 minutes.
The trick to perfect rice is to never stir it while it is cooking. Make sure all water is absorbed before removing from heat, and leave the cover on and let rice set up for 30 minutes to one hour. Store overnight in the fridge. One cup of uncooked natural rice will yield about 3-4 cups of cooked rice, so use leftover rice in soups, salads, or other entrees.
Fennel is a strong spice, and you should saute it in a little hot oil for a minute or two before adding to mixture. Some love it, others don’t, so test the waters and find out. Even without the use of fennel these subs are delicious. Happy eating!
