More ways rice is nice right now

Here are some more tricks rice does to make treats when you don't eat vegetables out of season. Some plain, some fancy.    

Vegetable Paella

As I explained earlier, paella is merely Spanish for pilaf/pilau, so it isn't a set dish of fixed ingredients as some think it is.  It's a specific way of cooking rice with various ingredients in a specific pan. It requires a specific short grain rice that soaks up liquids faster than the rice varieties used for Italian risotto so it cooks in less time. And with less attention. Two big pluses.

In its native habitat, original paella was made with rabbit. Often now it's made with seafood and chorizo. Here is a homestyle version you won't see in restaurants, a cozy family supper which some Spanish families eat right out of the pan together.  The recipe comes from my Catalan friend Sonia and I included it in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. You can also just use whatever vegetables you have on hand and it will come out fine. Just be sure you have what's sold here either as paella or calasperra rice. 

Serves 3-4

2 tbsp olive oil

2 med red bell peppers, finely diced

1 artichoke, outer leaves stripped, stem off

1 shallot, peeled and diced

8-10 small asparagus spears or ½ lb green beans, chopped into 1” pieces

4 garlic cloves, minced (two batches of two cloves each)

2 bay leaves

1 med tomato, grated (should be a juicy one)

1¼ cup Spanish paella rice or short grain white rice not starchy

4 cups + 1 tbsp boiling hot vegetable broth or water with 1 tbsp celery seed in it

pinch of saffron threads

1½ tsp smoked paprika (possible substitute: ½ tsp ground chipotle chili + 1 tsp paprika)

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup cooked lima or baby fava beans

½ cup peas

¼ cup chopped parsley leaves

1 roasted red pepper, skinned and sliced into thin strips

Optional: lemon wedges for garnish

Have the broth or water boiling in a large saucepan.

In a medium sized paella pan or flat bottom sauté pan of similar round shape, heat the oil over medium flame. Add diced red pepper and sauté for 3-5 minutes, lowering heat if it starts to brown.

Be sure all the hard outer leaves are off the artichoke and quarter the heart. Remove the hairy choke on all pieces and coarsely chop them. Add to the pan, stirring as you do.  Add shallot and asparagus or green beans, stirring. Add bay leaves, tomato pulp, black pepper and 2 minced garlic cloves, stirring. Add the rice and smoked paprika, continually stirring. Add the hot broth or water, saving one tablespoon, and then saffron threads. Stir once to incorporate everything and let the paella cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.  Add the beans and peas on top.

Combine 2 minced garlic cloves, parsley leaves and the remaining tbsp of broth or water in a small food processor or blender and make a thin puree.  Pour over the paella and add a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Carefully stir to blend and turn off the heat. Remove bay leaves. Test for salt and adjust to taste.

Let the paella sit and steam for another 5 minutes while garnishing with the roasted pepper strips splayed like the spokes of a wheel, and optional lemon wedges standing up around the outer edge.  Serve immediately.

Trinidad Beef Pelau

This is fusion cooking to the hilt.  The pelau comes from the Indians who populate much of Trinidad and brought their pilau with them having discovered it from the invading Moguls, aka Persians who gave us pilaf. Thus the long grain rice.  Basmati fits that need. The process of browning the beef in sugar comes from Africa where many  locals came from.  The ketchup is thought to represent the English taste for tomato chutney, acquired during during the Raj. The fiercely hot scotch bonnet pepper is Caribbean.

serves 6-8
1  12oz can pigeon peas or black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 c long grain rice
3 tbsp vegetable oil (not olive but corn, canola, safflower, etc)
1/4 c turbinado or any granulated sugar
3 lbs stewing beef, in chunks (the tenderest you can get)
1 sm onion, diced
1 lg garlic clove, minced   
1 c coconut milk (canned is just fine)
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp special seasoning* see below
1/2 c flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 carrots, peeled and chopped 
5 scallions, roots off, minced top to bottom
2 c butternut squash or pumpkin, cubed
1 sm scotch bonnet pepper, whole
1/2 c ketchup 
1 tbsp unsalted butter  

*special seasoning 
1/4 c vinegar (not balsamic)
1/4 c water 
1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves 
2 tbsp dried thyme leaves or 1 bunch fresh
1 tbsp dried oregano  
1/2  bunch flat leaf parsley leaves 
 4 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt        

Combine all the seasoning ingredients in a food processor and blend into a paste. Add more water if necessary to get a smooth paste.  

Be sure the rinsed canned beans are relatively dry.
Wash the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear as it exits.
In a large, heavy lidded pot (a Dutch oven or cast iron casserole like Le Creuset),   heat the oil. Add the sugar and swirl in the pot, stirring constantly to caramelize it into a dark brown color. Add the beef and stir to coat it with the caramelized sugar.  Add the onion and garlic. Stirring constantly, cook 1 minute. 

Stir in 1 c water, coconut milk, bay leaf, the special seasoning paste, parsley, thyme, carrots and scallions. Reduce heat to med/low. Cover the pot and cook 20 minutes.  Stir in the rice, squash, pigeon or black-eyed peas, scotch bonnet pepper, ketchup and butter. Cover the pot and cook on low another 20 minutes or until the rice is soft but not sticky and the squash is tender.  Remove the lid and fluff with a fork before serving.                               
Kushari

 

This is Egyptian street food, a poor man's vegetarian meal beloved by just about everyone, especially children.  It's very hearty, thrifty and handy because it uses essentially pantry staples. Because everything is cooked separately, it requires a pile of pots. Otherwise it's very very simple. Many people say the outcome depends entirely on the red sauce you pour over it and everyone has their version.
serves 4

2 lg yellow onions,  peeled and sliced into very thin disks
1/4 c cornstarch 
1 c brown lentils
2 tsp salt
1 c med/long grain rice  (not starchy)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 c elbow macaroni or ditalini
1/4 c good quality olive oil

Pat the onions dry with paper towels, then toss them with the cornstarch to coat.   

In a medium lidded pot, combine the lentils with 1 1/2 c water. Bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp salt and cover the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10-15 minutes, until lentils are tender. Add water if necessary as they cook so they don't dry out.

At the same time   in a medium pot over high heat, bring 1 1/2 c water to a boil. Immediately stir in the rice, cumin and 1 tsp salt. Reduce heat to low and cook until the rice is fluffy and tender.                  

At the same time, cook the macaroni or ditalini according to package instructions, then drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Sauté the onion disks until the rings are golden brown and crisp, 10-12 minutes.

To serve:  place the pasta on a large dish. Top with the rice, then the lentils and finally the onions.  

Before serving, make the red sauce to serve in a on the side. Here's one version:
1 tbsp good quality olive oil
6 sm garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp harissa or hot sauce or ground cayenne
2 tbsp white vinegar 
15 oz strained tomatoes (canned or boxed)

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic, cumin, salt and dry cayenne pepper if using. Stir. Add the  vinegar and harissa or wet hot sauce. Cook 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Raise heat to bring the pot contents to a boil.  Reduce heat  to low and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, about 10 minutes. Serve warm to pour over the kushari.
  
Greek Brown Rice and Chickpea Soup

I've posted this rustic vegetarian soup before. It's a fan favorite. I  included it in a magazine spread where it got a lot of loving attention and comments. It comes with a warning: if you let this sit a while, the rice will absorb all the liquid and the dish becomes a pilaf. No less delicious.
serves 6   

   

½ c top quality olive oil

1 lg onion, minced

½ c dry white wine

2 tsp Aleppo pepper*

6 c hearty vegetable or chicken broth and or water

1 15/6 oz. can chickpeas, drained (you need 2 cups)

1 c chopped boxed or canned tomatoes

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1 c short grain brown rice

Salt to your taste

½ c crumbled feta cheese

½ bunch flat leaf parsley minced for garnish

Optional: dried mint leaves for extra flavor and garnish

*Ground Aleppo pepper is a moderately hot Syrian chili. Substitutes would be ground chipotle pepper or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.

NB: do not use Basmati or any other long grain rice. Short grain rice is for soaking up flavors and you need that here.

In a medium heavy pot, heat olive oil, add onion and sauté over medium heat until soft and translucent, 8-10 minutes. Stir in wine and Aleppo or other hot pepper alternative. Raise heat and cook briskly 45-60 seconds until most liquid is gone.

Add 2 cups broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and oregano. Bring to simmering, cover and cook on low heat 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and 2 cups broth. Cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.

Season with salt. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Stir in feta, cover, remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Serve in bowls garnished with minced parsley. Optionally you can double garnish with pinches of fresh mint.

Arroz con pollo (Chicken with Rice)

This is one of the most traditional and well known Spanish and also Cuban dishes: chicken cooked in the pan with saffron rice.  You can augment it if you wish by adding a drained can of black beans when you add the rice.
serves 6

1/4 c olive oil

1 lg onion, diced

3 lbs chicken parts

1 green pepper, seeded & diced                             

juice of a lime                                         

2 c rice

3 garlic cloves, minced                          

4 c chicken stock

1 tsp ground chipotle chili or similar      

1 c tomatoes, diced (boxed okay)

1 tsp ground cumin                                

Salt and pepper to your taste

5 saffron threads

Marinate the chicken in lime, garlic, cumin and chili 4-6 hours. 

In a large skillet or paella pan, heat oil. Brown chicken on both sides  5 minutes per side and remove. Sauté the onion and green pepper 5 min. in the same oil. Stir in the rice to glaze with oil. Add saffron. Arrange chicken over rice, skin side up. Add tomatoes, marinade, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook 25-30 minutes until rice is fluffy and chicken tender. Garnish with chopped cilantro.