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Recipe: Umeboshi Rice

May 15, 2008 in grain, recipe

This rice is quite special – and even moreso because it tastes as though it took a lot of effort but it is extremely simple! Especially if you have a rice cooker – then it might become one of your new favorites. ;-) This recipe is straight from Simply Ming by Ming Tsai – a cookbook I am only just now fully appreciating!

So let’s get to it, right?  What is an umeboshi? It is a pickled plum, Japanese style. I found them at my local grocery (Rainbow) but I am certain Whole Foods or many groceries with an “Asian” aisle would stock this as well. They were sold either in jars or in a small tupperware flat type container. I think there are about 20 little pickled plums in my box, but I only used 3 for this recipe. So they go a long way!

The flavor of the umeboshi in the rice is subtle but distinct. And it added a great hint of sourness that perfectly suits the slight sweetness of both the salmon and its miso glaze. The green onion adds a hint of freshness as well. And although I loved this paired with the fish & greens, I’ll be eating the leftovers like a rice salad dish. At least I think I will. If they last that long. 8-)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/5 c. sushi rice
  • 2 c. water
  • 3 umeboshi, pitted and finely chopped
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped
  1. Add the rice & water to your rice cooker and tell it to cook. Otherwise just follow the instructions to cook your rice on the stove.
  2. When the rice is cooked, combine 2 cups cooked with the umeboshi and green onions. Combine well & serve.
  3. Really, that’s all there is to it! :)

Note: originally served with Miso Glazed Salmon

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Recipe: Parsnip & Quinoa “Rösti”

March 28, 2008 in grain, recipe, vegetable, vegetarian

Parsnip & Quinoa Rosti

I’m posting a large photo of this “rösti” because I love how you can see the quinoa spirals shining through! You may have several questions as you begin to read this post. Let’s see if I can guess them all:

  • What is a “rösti”? From my experience (& brief research) rösti is a grated, hashed-brown type potato dish that is very traditional in Switzerland. When I had it in Switzerland it changed my perception of hash browns forever! No longer relegated to the breakfast table, rösti opens the door to a new hash brown wonderland. Or at least it did for me. ;-) At its most basic, rösti is a formed patty of grated potatoes, typically cooked with butter or another fat and often topped with any variety of items: bacon, vegetables, cheeses, herbs – anything you can imagine. If you were curious – rösti is delicious!
  • What is quinoa – and how do you say that word anyway? Quinoa is pronounced like “keen-wah”. That is *my* definition, feel free to validate with Mr. Webster. Quinoa is native to South America and it is a notable grain for a few reasons. First, it cooks very quickly! Secondly, it is very high in protein, contains a complete set of essential amino acids, is jam packed with fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron! Plus – once again – its very tasty and actually has a mild nutty flavor once it is cooked. I often cook quinoa and mix it with a vegetable or bean to make a patty, but use the leftovers as a side to any dish. It is great on its own or with friends.
  • And what I imagine is the other question looming about in your mind: Why parsnips AGAIN??? This is particularly easy to answer. Because I have had them in spades so far this month AND last if you remember that parsnips were featured as February’s vegetable of the month. Plus their flavor is sweet and easy going – it matches many other ingredients perfectly & cooks easily. What’s not to like?

Let’s get down to it then! This recipe (or rather my interpretation) is inspired by Mark Bittman’s most excellent cookbook: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It caught my eye as I thumbed thru last week and I knew we would be eating it soon! While I would not call the results of my preparation of this dish a classic rösti AT ALL, I kept the name Mr. Bittman gave the dish to honor the source of its inspiration.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. parsnips
  • 1 cup of cooked quinoa
  • 4 T. of butter
  • salt & pepper
  1. Steam or boil the parsnips whole with the skin on until they are easily pierced with a knife but mushy. This will take about 15 minutes if you steam them. Remove the parsnips from the heat and allow them to cool.
  2. Combine 2 T. of butter in a large bowl with the quinoa. Add a bit of salt & pepper while combining.
  3. When parsnips are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off. If possible, grate the parsnips. Using a food processor for this step is a great idea. If you don’t have a food processor, can’t be bothered, or simply want something different, either cut up the parsnips and mash well or run them through a potato ricer. Regardless of the method you use, aim to get the parsnips either grated (for a more classic rösti style) or nicely smooshed for the style pictured above.
  4. Add the parsnips to the quinoa and combine well.
  5. Over medium-high heat, warm 1 T. of butter in a large saute pan. When the butter is hot, add the parsnip-quinoa mixture and spread out to fill the pan as one large circle. Lower the heat to medium-low to low and allow to cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. You should be able to smell the toasty-ness of the rösti after about this long.
  6. Check the bottom to verify it is nicely browned then turn off the gas stove and place a plate over the rösti in the saute pan. Carefully flip the pan & plate over so the plate is now on the bottom and has the rösti on it.
  7. Return the pan to the stove and bring to medium heat. Carefully slide the rösti back into the saute pan so that the uncooked side will now cook.
  8. Allow to cook on medium to medium-low for another 10 minutes. Again ensure the bottom is nicely browned then remove from the heat.
  9. This dish is best enjoyed warmed but leftovers keep very well!

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Recipe: Red Beans and Rice

February 4, 2008 in beans, grain, recipe

I have had a hard time deciding how to post this recipe. Should I post the beans alone then add the combined recipe? Or just do the combined? What about the amazing ham stock – how shall I highlight that? And serving with spinach (as shown) is an amazing bonus that adds great green taste & value while enhancing the flavors of the dish.

At the end of the day – I decided that this should present as one large recipe with call-outs to the individual specialties. Making this recipe – in any way you opt to make it – produces a lovely first meal of red beans & rice, a second meal depending on what you want to do with the bean (& ham potentially) stock and who even knows what you will turn that into? The point is – this recipe presents options all around, a use of a leftover (the ham) to turn something you would normally overlook into deeply scented bean stock. Really, it can’t be beat.

And now that I’ve mentioned that ham multiple times, let me elaborate. Holidays are rife with hams in my family. Specifically my family had a pre-Christmas shindig where we celebrated and enjoyed each other’s company. While there were numerous options, one of the primary dishes was ham. Ham is obviously best with a crowd because it produces a LOT of meat and since many of us don’t make this frequently at home, it is a wonderful treat. The point of this is that my husband had the foresight to ask for one of the ham-bone-legs as we left the party. Since there were two, my aunt was happy to share with us and we took home a beautiful – mostly eaten but a lot of meat still on it – ham leg. I promptly put this leg in the freezer because the holiday travel season was upon me.

In January, that crowded freezer began to drive me crazy. Additionally I paid another visit to my friends at Rancho Gordo and picked up what they described as the *ultimate* red beans & rice bean – the Red Nightfall bean. Its a beautiful bean and I was anxious to give it a try. I took the ham straight from the freezer and added it to a pot of water & beans. The beans cooked, the ham disintegrated, and I was left with beans for red beans & rice, and an amazingly rich ham/bean stock that I used for soup later in the week. Don’t pitch that stock out – its yummy! So here it is, my version of red beans & rice with bonus extras. BTW – reheated with spinach (as shown above) is a perfect meal & a great way to get extra greens in your diet!

For the beans & stock:

  • 1 ham bone, ham hock, chunk of bacon, or just leave the whole meat thing out
  • 1 lb. of Red Nightfall beans (or kidney, beans etc.)
  • 2 bay leaves
  1. Add ham bone (leave extra meat on it, this cooks down beautifully) to a large stock pot. Fill with water to cover the ham bone. Add the red beans & bay leaves and bring everything to a boil.
  2. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 1-2 hours until beans are nicely cooked but not breaking down.
  3. Strain out beans & ham meat. Discard the bone & bay leaves. Be sure to save the stok produced from this mixture.

For the red beans and rice:

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 T. garlic, minced
  • 4-5 sprigs of thyme (or about 1 t. dried)
  • 1 1/2 c. rice
  • beans from above recipe
  • 3 c. of stock (preferably use the stock produced above or any vegetable or chicken stock)
  1. In a large pot warm some olive oil. Sauté the onion, peppers, and garlic until just softening. Add the thyme, rice, beans, and stock. Stir well to combine then cover and lower the heat to low.
  2. Cook for about 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. If after about 20 minutes rice is done but liquid remains, raise the heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, stirring, until liquid is absorbed.
  3. Season well with salt & pepper, then serve. Garnish with fresh parsley to add a bit of color.

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Recipe: Rice Pilaf with Greens

January 22, 2008 in grain, recipe

Rice pilaf is a broad definition for any rice dish where the grains are sautéed in butter or olive oil – usually before adding other ingredients. The result is a beautifully cooked rice dish that is full of flavor but low on hastle and fuss. I made this dish with long-grain brown rice by first parboiling the rice as described here. If you decide to use white rice, skip the parboil. Adding the greens helps to up the nutritional content and adds to the flavor without startling the vegetable fearful among us.

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 T. butter
  • 1 c. chopped onion
  • 2 – 3 c. washed and chopped greens such as spinach, chard, or kale
  • 1 1/2 c. rice (if using brown rice please parboil for 12 minutes- it will cook beautifully as you can see in the photo)
  • 1 t. minced garlic
  • 2 c. vegetable or chicken stock
  1. Warm butter in a large deep skillet over medium to medium-high. Start sautéing the onion then add the greens after about 1 minute. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the rice and lower the heat to medium. Stir until rice is glossy and well coated, and just beginning to color, about 5 more minutes. Season with salt & pepper then add the stock.
  3. Stir several times then cover the pan. Lower the heat to LO then cook for about 15 minutes leaving the pot covered the entire time. Remove the pan off the heat and allow to sit another 15-30 minutes before serving.

Rice pilaf also holds up extremely well, and reheats beautifully for another dinner or lunch!

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Ideas: How to use Brown Rice?

January 21, 2008 in grain, recipe

I have tried many times to substitute brown rice for white in a recipe with less than stellar results.  I know the trick now though!  PARBOIL.  Yes, its that easy, just parboil (aka precook) the brown rice then it can be used in any recipe just as you would have used the raw white rice!  I tried it over the weekend with absolutely perfect results.  And I learned you can parboil the brown rice then use it in nearly any white rice dish: risotto, pilaf, paella, anything!  I feel that whole new rice world has been opened up to me! :)

How to??

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the brown rice you intend to use in your next recipe.
  2. Cook for about 12 minutes and drain.
  3. Use the rice within the hour.
  4. Be ecstatic with your new rice abilities! 8-)

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Recipe: Classic Red Mexican Rice

October 1, 2007 in grain, recipe, vegan

Arroz a la Mexicana – it sounds so beautiful when I use that title! And it is! This recipe comes from a book I have had on my shelf for many, many years. Though I have often referenced it, I admit I haven’t ever really dived in and given it my all. And it truly deserves the attention! Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen is a must have! It isn’t full of photos but it is fully of phenomenal recipes and information.

My favorite way to make this recipe follows. You will end up with a cup of fresh salsa and a pot full of delicious rice – the perfect starter for any meal!

Salsa Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of tomatoes
  • 2-3 fresh jalapenos
  • 3 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 c. loosely packed cilantro, chopped
  1. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the jalapenos and garlic under the broiler (about 4″ from the heat). Let them begin to blacken the flip – about 5 minutes. Repeat until they are nicely charred and the garlic is soft – the jalapenos and garlic may finish at different times. Set aside to cool. Peel the garlic & pull the stems from the chilies.
  2. Repeat the process with the tomatoes – collect the juices. Peel the tomatoes once they are blackened.
  3. Place tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, and salt into a food processor. Blend until desired consistency is achieved.
  4. Stir in onion and cilantro.

Rice Ingredients:

  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 c. rice (preferably medium grain)
  • 1 c. of the salsa above
  • 3/4 c. vegetable broth or water
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1 c. frozen peas, finely chopped carrots, zucchini, or other veggies as desired (opt.)
  • 1/2 c. loosely packed cilantro, chopped
  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. In a 2-quart, oven-proof pan that has a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the rice and cook until the grains turn a chalky white color, about 5 minutes. Stir often. If some kernels brown it is fine.
  3. Add the salsa and cook for about 1 minute, letting the salsa sear, stirring well.
  4. Add the broth and salt then bring to a boil. Stir then cover tightly and place in oven.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes, uncover and test the rice. It should be nearly cooked through – if so, recover and set outside of oven for another 5-10 minutes. If it is not close to being ready, re-cover and replace in oven for another 5 minutes, then retest. If using peas, add them after about 20-22 minutes of cooking. Don’t stir them in, just add, recover the pan, and replace in the oven. Other veggies(such as corn or carrot) could be added at the same time.
  6. Sprinkle rice with cilantro and fluff with a fork. Serve warm.

Note: in the above photo I added about 1/2 of a zucchini cut into small matchsticks, and about 1 c. of frozen peas

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