Tag: rice

Brown rice with spinach and tomatoes

This is another old recipe from 2009. You can use any green leaf if you don’t have spinach, it works well with New Zealand Spinach, or chard as well. New Zealand Spinach grows well here, but I’m not sure whether people know much about cooking it.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 450g brown rice, soaked in cold water and drained
  • 50g butter or vegetable oil
  • 300g spinach or similar
  • 1 can of chopped organic tomatoes
  • 1 finely sliced onion
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 900ml stock or water

METHOD:

  • Steam the spinach for three minutes, and chop.
  • In a pan, fry the sliced onion in the oil until it begins to brown.
  • Add the drained rice to the pan with the spices and fry for two minutes
  • Add water, salt, spinach, tomatoes and bring to the boil
  • Cook over a low heat for 35 minutes, covered. Check ever five minutes or so to make sure it hasn’t boiled dry.
  • Turn off the head and uncover, and leave to stand for ten minutes before serving.

You can add a can of pinto beans, or fry the onion with garlic, to add a twist.

Prawn Biryani

We adapted this from Madhur Jaffrey’s book, Curry Easy. Her recipe uses farmed tiger prawns, which are available frozen. We used fresh local prawns. It was really delicious. We had to adjust quantities as well, as we are only cooking for two people. I added some spices and herbs from similar recipes from Iran. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 kg fresh prawns
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper
  • 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • chopped coriander and mint leaves
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 150g rice
  • Small pinch of saffron in 1 tbsp boiling water
  • 1/2 tsp Caraway seeds
  • 1 tbsp butter

METHOD:

  • Put the rice in a large measuring jug of cold water, and leave to soak. Drain off and refresh the water from time to time. 
  • Cook the prawns for a couple of minutes in boiling water, then drain. When the prawns are cold, peel the tails, and cut them in half around the middle. 
  • Put the prawns in a bowl with garlic, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and set aside.
  • Bring a large pan of water to the boil, flavoured with salt, half a teaspoon of caraway and 2 cardamom pods. 
  • When the water is boiling, add the drained rice. Bring back to the boil and cook until the rice is not completely cooked, but almost. Drain the rice.
  • In a frying pan, heat up a tbsp of vegetable oil and fry the prawns for 2 minutes or so. 
  • Mix the cooked prawns with the lemon juice, coriander and mint leaves. 
  • Grease the bottom of a large pan with the butter, then add half the drained rice, then the prawns, and then the rest of the rice. Sprinkle the top with the saffron water. 
  • Cover the rice and cook over a low heat for another ten minutes or so, until the rice is fully cooked. 
  • Carefully mix the rice and prawns, and serve. 

Roast Butternut Squash Mujadara

This is from ‘Cook for Syria’ recipe book, from the club of the same name. The food is great, as is the idea behind the project. This recipe looks quite long, with lots of ingredients, but it didn’t involve anything complicated, and many of the steps can be done while other bits are cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 dessert-spoonful of olive oil
  • 100g shredded cabbage, kale or brussel sprouts
  • 1 tbsp sumac powder (from seasoned pioneers)
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes or powder
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into wedges
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 160g puy lentils or other green lentils
  • a bay leaf
  • salt
  • 160g basmati rice
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 6 tbsp greek yoghurt
  • Coriander leaves, chopped.

METHOD:

  • To make the cabbage/kale layer, chop the leaves and mix with the sumac, chilli, sesame seeds, 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt, and put it into a roasting dish. Roast for 15 minutes at 150C
  • To make the butternut squash layer, mix the squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, thyme leaves, honey, salt and pepper. Put this into another roasting dish and roast for 30 minutes at 180C
  • The rice layer has more steps. First of all, slice the onions finely, and fry gently in olive oil until beginning to brown and caramelise. Set aside.
  • Rinse the green lentils in cold water, then cook in plenty of boiling water with the bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  • Rinse the rice in cold water, then cook in plenty of boiling water for around 6 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water, and return to the pan. Leave the pan in a warm place for 15 minutes.
  • Mix the lentils with the rice, the fried onions, and add the lemon juice.
  • Make the yoghurt dressing: heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan, then add the cumin seeds. After a minute, add the ground cumin, stir, and then beat into the yoghurt, with the tahini.
  • Take 1 large platter, and put the rice and lentil mix at the bottom, then the squash, and top with the cabbage, garnish with coriander leaves.
  • Guests should help themselves, adding as much of the tahini/yoghurt dressing as they wish.

Lamb and brown rice in one pot

We always have some lamb left after we have roast lamb, but it is never as good the next day. This was very good, I found it on the internet when I was looking for something else, never found it again.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 large sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Chopped left-over lamb – enough to fill a 1 pint jug.
  • 200g brown rice
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • finely diced streaky bacon, or salt pork, or pancetta, or lardons or similar

METHOD:

  • Boil the rice in a big pan of water for 15 minutes, drain and set aside. It should be slightly underdone.
  • In a large pan, fry the bacon, onions, celery and carrots for at least five minutes
  • Add the lamb and rice, stir together and then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, paprika, and worcestershire sauce.
  • Bake in a low oven for 45 minutes.
  • Serve with a green vegetable, such as broccoli.

Mexican rice

I have no idea if this recipe is Mexican at all. I got it from my friend Kay, who I think got it from a book called the Vegetarian Epicure which I have never chased down yet.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 large onions
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 floz olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 2 cups of white rice
  • 1 1/2 pints of tomato puree (I use canned chopped tomatoes which I blend, or you could use passata)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 14 floz water

METHOD:

  • Chop the onions and garlic and lightly fry in the oil.
  • Add the ginger, coriander, cloves and pepper, and stir for 30 seconds
  • Add the rice and stir, cooking until the rice seems to be turning clear and beginning to brown
  • Add the tomato puree, salt and water, and simmer for 25 minutes

Rose water rice pudding

This is the strangest recipe for rice pudding I ever saw. But it works. These proportions serve six. I’ve adapted this from an American recipe, so it is by volume rather than weight.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 125ml  short-grain rice (we used arborio)
  • 500ml water
  • a pinch of salt
  • 750ml full fat milk
  • 125ml of whipping cream
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 50ml cup rose water
  • 50g sugar

METHOD:

  • Put the rice, water and salt in a large pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is tender
  • Add the milk and cream, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 55 minutes
  • Add the sugar, rose-water and cardamom, and simmer for a further 10 minutes

Either serve whilst warm, or chill in individual serving bowls to be served with stewed pears or quince.

Crecy Soup

This is one of my stand-by recipes, a lovely buttery soup. The type of rice used can be varied, and I have made up the weight of carrots with other root vegetables in the past. The stock can also be varied, as can the garnish. The thyme is an important flavour though, don’t mess with the thyme. Very flexible.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 75g butter
  • 250g carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • 25g rice
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 700ml stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)
  • Garnish, could be chopped chives, parsley, chervil etc.

METHOD:

  • In a saucepan, melt 50g of the butter, and add the onion and carrots and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the lid on the pan, and cook very gently for 10 minutes or so.
  • Add the rice, thyme and stock, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the thyme sprig and puree the soup. Reheat, check the seasoning, and whisk the last of the butter into the soup.
  • Garnish with chopped herbs, and serve with croutons