Tag: rice

3-Grain Soup

3-Grain Soup

A couple of years ago, I only had two soup recipes – and I only used them once or twice a season.

This year, I think I’ve tried twenty new soup recipes, and have remade a few of them.


I’m not really into sipping cosommé (do people do that??). I like a soup that eats like a meal, but doesn’t come in a ready-made gelatinous blob. I’m not sure where the dividing line between soup and stew is, but I think I’m clumsily walking along it.

This soup was a great find, because it allowed me to use a few ingredients I don’t normally buy (like wheat berries and le puy lentils). Do you really need to buy le puy lentils? I don’t think so. I’ve made the soup twice now: once with le puy lentils; and once with brown lentils. Both were great. This is my first time cooking le puy lentils, so I haven’t quite formed an opinion of them.

If you’re not sure whether you’ll ever use wheat berries or lentils again, go to your local bulk store and buy just the amount you need. I do that to save money, and cupboard space.

The amount of garlic in it may sound shocking, but don’t skimp! The garlic mellows out while it cooks, and lightly flavours the soup. I prefer to mash the whole cloves in my bowl just before I eat – it’s less startling than a mouthful of garlic, and nicely seasons the rest of the soup.

3-Grain Soup

3-Grain Soup

One tip – don’t undercook the soup. You might think that the rice should be intact, but I would disagree. I tested the soup with the rice intact, and the broth seemed a little thin. A little more cooking, and the rice starts to break down and thicken the soup. You don’t need the rice to stay perfect in order to have a nice texture – the lentils and the wheat berries do just fine in that regard.

Where to buy in Toronto?

  • Le puy lentils – I thought I should be able to find these at Bulk Barn, or Loblaws, but no luck. I got them from Rube’s at St. Lawrence Market. You should be able to find them at ‘finer’ bulk stores.
  • Wheat Berries – These are pretty easy to find. I got mine at Bulk Barn, but I think you can find them at Rube’s. You might be able to get them from grocery stores.

 

3-Grain Soup

Source: Adapted from this recipe.

6-8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 medium leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced (3-4 cups of sliced leek)
  • 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • Fine sea salt
  • 14-ounces canned peeled whole tomatoes, crushed, with juices
  • 6 cups cold water or light-flavoured stock
  • 1 head of garlic, separated into whole peeled cloves
  • 1/3 cup brown rice
  • 1/3 cup le Puy lentils
  • 1/3 cup wheat berries
  • Freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

  1. Heat oil in a preheated, heavy soup pot.
  2. Add the leeks, carrots, olive oil, bay leaves, thyme and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover and cook over low heat until softened.
  3. Add the tomatoes with their juices, the water/stock and garlic and bring to a boil over medium heat.
  4. Turn the heat down to low, add the rice, lentils and wheat berries, cover and simmer until the grains are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  5. Discard the bay leaves, season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Barley Rice Salad

Barley Rice Salad

I love barley. In the winter, I’m always making stews that overflow with barley. Until now, however, I haven’t found something to use it in during the summer months. Here, I’ve used it in a salad with some rice and veggies. Cross that one off my list of grains to try saladifying!

I’m not sure why I love barley so much. It doesn’t have a big flavour, and isn’t as versatile as rice or quinoa. I like the little chew it gives to a dish. I guess it’s as simple as that.

It seems like I’m trying to find a way to make salad out of every grain in my cupboard. Grain salads are great for me, because they make great leftovers to bring to work. I’m always thinking of what to bring for lunch the next day. I do my best to limit the number of days I have to buy lunch, so that’s really important for me.

I’ve kept the dressing very simple lately. I just restocked my apple cider vinegar, which is fantastic for salad dressing. It’s tart and acidic and has more flavour than white vinegar, so you don’t need to add many other ingredients. One reason I kept things simple – fresh basil. Our rooftop garden is overflowing with delicious basil, and I’m happy to highlight it in the salad. Nothing compares to fresh basil.

Cooking tip: cook the barley in advance and freeze in portions. Do this on a day that isn’t too hot, so you’re ready to go when you need it. I didn’t do this with the rice, because rice is quicker to cook up when you need it.

Barley Rice Salad

Barley Rice Salad meets the Garlic Scape Monster

Barley Rice Salad

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown or mixed rice, dry (I used a fun one from Bulk Barn called Black Pearl)
  • 1 – 1.5 cups pearl barley, cooked
  • 1 cup corn kernels, cooked (can use canned, frozen, grilled)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped green garlic (or 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic clove)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup sliced fennel
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, quartered (and drained, if using a waterier variety)
  • 2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade or finely minced
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground yellow mustard seed
  • salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • pinch of cayenne, or your favourite ground chile (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped cucumber

Preparation:

  1. Cook rice using your favourite method (stovetop, rice cooker, steamed, etc.). Remove from heat, transfer rice to a large nonreactive bowl, stir in barley and set aside to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare and mix together the garlic, fennel, tomatoes and basil. Stir into rice and barley mix and put in the refrigerator.
  3. In a small glass with a pour spout, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard powder, salt, pepper and cayenne until the mixture emulsifies (it will come together and thicken slightly). Pour dressing over salad, bit by bit, and gently toss until well coated. You may not need to use it all.
  4. Top with chopped cucumber and serve.

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Daring Hoppers

Sri Lankan Lamb Curry w Hoppers

This month’s Daring Cooks’ Challenge digs into the cuisine of South India and Sri Lanka – something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now! What most restaurants offer up as Indian food usually represents dishes from northern India. The flavours of South India and Sri Lanka are quite different, and really fun to explore!
Continue reading Daring Hoppers

Purple Cabbage Rolls

Purple Cabbage Rolls - close

Every month, when the Daring Cooks’ Challenge entries are posted, I do my best to look at a number of the entries. I love to see the variation on the given theme, the creativity that people add to their interpretation, and of course I get inspiration!! This month was no exception.

One alternative to the challenge was to use a different leaf to wrap the rice – so there were quite a few people who chose to make cabbage rolls (either because they didn’t like grape leaves, couldn’t find grape leaves, or had mastered that recipe already and wanted a challenge). I realized that not only had I not attempted to make cabbage rolls before, but that I had never even EATEN cabbage rolls that weren’t based on the traditional Polish style that I was used to.

I had decided that some day, I would try to make cabbage rolls… eventually. That is, until I saw a post that used red cabbage. The colour was so compelling that I decided I would make some right away, and when I set eyes on a red cabbage at The Big Carrot, I decided to make some IMMEDIATELY. No joke. We were still deciding what to make for dinner the next night when I spotted it, turned to J and said “I could work on some cabbage rolls tonight and bake them up for dinner tomorrow”. Done.

Purple Cabbage Juice

One of the first things was to try and blanch the cabbage. Some recipes say to pull the leaves off first, some say to put the whole head in. I tried the first way — DISASTER!! The leaves ripped like mad. Blanching the whole thing was challenging, but a better option in the end.

The most hilarious part was the colour that came off of the cabbage. The boiling water turned a colour that bent from straight-up purple, to blue, to green as it poured. Of course, I managed to drip purple liquid all over the kitchen, and did my best to wipe it up immediately. I didn’t know if it would stain if I left it – reminded me of the days when my hair was purple, and I had to be careful not to get any of the coloured water on anything as it dripped from my head after a shower. Ahhh, memories.

Purple Hair

That done, I prepared the filling, which was mostly comprised of rice, rehydrated TVP (but you can use ground meat, if you like), and some herbs, mushroom and spinach.

One thing it should have contained – but didn’t – is egg. It was on my list, it was in my instructions…. but I forgot. Honestly, it could have used it. When you make vegetarian rolls, you don’t have the benefit of meat to help hold things together. An egg in the mix would have helped with that, but luckily it didn’t cause any disasters.

Purple Cabbage Rolls - assembly

Next. I set up to roll. I measured out a blob of filling, and basically used the same technique I used to roll the dolma – fold the bottom up tightly, tuck in the sides, continue to roll up and tuck in until you’re out of leaf. Since there was less leaf to work with than the dolma, I had to put them seam down on the tray. From there, I refrigerated the tray of rolls, with plans to assemble my baking dish the next morning.

I lined the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of thinly sliced tomato (to stop the rolls from sticking to the bottom, and to make a bit of a “sauce”), and a layer of thinly sliced leek. Next, I packed the cabbage rolls in pretty tightly, and studded them with halved garlic and button mushrooms. For the heck of it, I topped with sprigs of rosemary and covered with tin foil.

Purple Cabbage Rolls - assembled

I baked them covered for 40 minutes, uncovered for another 10. I found that it wasn’t quite enough. I upped the temperature, and turned it to broil. Better – but still not as cooked as I probably would have liked it. I think I should have baked them covered at a slightly higher temp for at least an hour, then uncovered for at least 20 minutes. Good to know for next time (I’ve made the changes to the recipe below).

I would also salt & pepper the mixture more than I did. You don’t want to season it as though you will be eating the filling on it’s own – it needs to have a stronger taste. That was mistake #3.

Overall, I think it was a great first attempt. I didn’t go too crazy with the ingredients – I did want them to taste something like a cabbage roll, after all. I learned a few things (don’t forget the egg! bake longer! season more!). We had a great meal, that made great leftovers.

Unfortunately, my pic of the actual baked dish kinda sucks. Oh well!

Purple Cabbage Rolls - baked

Full recipe after the jump!

Continue reading Purple Cabbage Rolls

Twice as Nice! BBQ Corn to Summer Corn & Rice Salad

BBQ Corn and Mahi Mahi

When the summer hits, you really want to cook as infrequently as possible. On a hot week like this, I’m grateful for leftovers that I can use in another dish. This post revolves around sweet and juicy grilled corn on the cob, and how to transform the leftover kernels into a fantastic summer salad!

Last night’s dinner was pretty simple and yummy – some corn on the cob and mahi mahi (marinated in piri piri sauce) done up on our wee BBQ. Soo tasty and filling!

After dinner, we had two ears of corn left so I carefully cut the kernels off of the cob and cooked up the rice for my salad. This salad is a mix of sweet, fresh, salty and savoury. You can substitute any of your favourite fresh or grilled veggies, as well as any dressing you like. Keep in mind that the rice will absorb most of the dressing.

Corn & Rice Salad

Try not to overcompensate by drowning the salad in dressing – that will leave your rice gummy and possibly with too strong a taste. The dressing I used is a mild blend of orange juice, very green tasting hemp oil, a wee bit of apple cider vinegar and fresh herbs. It gives a light coating and flavour without covering the smokiness of the grilled corn, the light anise flavour of the fennel,  and the freshness of crisp vegetables.

BBQ Corn & Rice Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup mixed rice, cooked (I use a fun blend of brown, red and wild rices)
  • 1-2 cups grilled corn kernels
  • 2-3 tbsp fresh green onion (green part sliced, white part finely minced)
  • 1-2 tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
  • 1 tsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 – 1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
  • 1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cucumber, chopped

Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp hemp oil
  • 2 Tbsp Piri Piri sauce
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation:

  1. Combine the rice with the corn, onion, basil, mint and fennel. Toss with olive oil.
  2. Mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Be sure to mix well enough that the garlic powder dissolves completely.
  3. Toss the salad mix with the dressing. This can sit overnight if required.
  4. Slice and mix in the rest of the veggies just before eating.

Deep South Spiced Rice & Beans

Deep South Rice & Beans

Deep South Spiced Rice & Beans (p.137, Classic Vegetarian Recipes) – Being “mostly vegetarian”, I try to find recipes that include legumes of some kind. This sounded like a good dish to try, as it incorporates beans and some fresh veggies. It’s a good one for the spring, because it isn’t heavy and saucey.

This is another dish I found in one of my old, dusty cookbooks. It’s a pretty good one, but really not that much unlike things I make on my own. I actually substituted black beans for the suggested kidney beans, because that’s what I had on hand.

I love the colourful peppers in this dish. I think it’s true that the more colour in a dish, the more you want to eat it. I know I eat some things that look pretty rough – some stews and things that have a mushy brown thing going on – but I do love to add colour with veggies and herbs.

What does this dish have that I don’t usually add? Cajun spice. Until recently, I didn’t really think about Cajun spice. Then I had to make some in a pinch because the jar I thought I had was gone… Then I came across dish after dish calling for the vague “Cajun spice” (come ON people, just tell us what spices to use!). Now armed with “my own blend” and some in my spice drawer, I am prepared for such recipes.

Adaptation – Seitan Tomato Bredie

Seitan Tomato Bredie

Since I haven’t issued myself a month-long challenge for May, I’m taking on a couple of one-off challenges. This challenge was issued by Nupur, who writes for One Hot Stove. The goal is to find a recipe posted on another blog, and change something major about it and repost, with a link to the original blog post.

This probably isn’t a surprise, but I chose to veggify a meat dish. This dish could also be made gluten-free by using a non-wheat flour to thicken at the end (er, and by not using seitan, which is basically all wheat gluten).

I chose to make a South African Tomao Bredie (stew), which was originally posted by Asha, who writes for Fork Spoon Knife.

The reason I chose this particular recipe is because it is a South African dish that makes use of many spices that I’ve been ignoring lately. This is a very aromatic dish, featuring LOTS of ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns. YUM! I’ve never tried cooking any South African dishes before, so I thought this would be a great place to start.

Also, the poster wrote about the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books when describing why SHE chose the recipe… while I haven’t read the books, I really enjoyed the TV series on HBO (Miss 97%!). So… yes, I choose recipes for a combination of reasons, some that make sense and some that do not.

I suppose I need to adapt the inspiration for this dish as well, instead of just stealing the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency reference… If I try really hard, I can just imagine Wikus Van De Merwe eating this (before his run-in with the aliens) in Joburg.

District 9 - Wikus Van De Merwe

Wikus Van De Merwe, from the movie District 9

This was a great dish to have on a cool fall day. Yes, I know it is the middle of May — it FEELS LIKE FALL this week! I’m trying really hard not to be angry at the weather man, filtering some of the anger into cooking. Enjoy!

Tomato Bredie

The original recipe can be found at Fork Spoon Knife.

Marinade Ingredients:

  • 1 inch chunk of ginger, minced
  • 2 tsp all spice powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Stew Ingredients:

  • 1 lb seitan, cut into 1″ cubes (I used this recipe)
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 4-5 whole cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick, or 1/2 tsp ground
  • 4-5 cracked black peppercorns
  • 1 medium onions, diced
  • 1 inch chunk of ginger, minced
  • 2-3 cardamom pods
  • 6 medium tomatoes, diced, divided (4 for the stew, 2 for garnish)
  • 1 jalapeno, diced (although I don’t think the dish needs it… the ginger offers enough heat)
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • salt, pepper as needed
  • 3 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp flour

Aromatic Rice Ingredients:

  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick, or 1/2 tsp ground
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 cracked peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
  • 3C water

Preparation:

  1. THE NIGHT BEFORE: Coat the seitan pieces evenly with the marinade.Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Heat the oil in a deep sauté pan on med-high heat. Toast the cloves, cinnamon, whole peppercorns in the oil until you can smell the spices.
  3. Add the onions and sauté until browned.
  4. Add the seitan, ginger and cardamom and brown the seitan a little bit. Turn the heat down to medium, cover and let simmer for 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes, jalapeno, stock, salt and pepper and stir well. Simmer for five more minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add the potatoes and simmer until they are cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.
  7. While the stew is simmering, prepare the rice:
    1. In a medium pot, heat up 1 tsp of oil. Add the spices, and cook until you start to smell them.
    2. Add the rice and salt, stir thoroughly, and let it toast a little bit (but be careful not to let it burn!)
    3. Add the water, let it come to a boil and reduce to med-low heat. Cover immediately and cook until the rice absorbs all of the water. Fluff with a fork when done.
  8. About 10 minutes into the simmering, add the green pepper.
  9. When the stew is cooked through, melt the butter in a small pan and add the flour to it. Cook for a minute and then add the roux to the stew to thicken.
  10. Once the potatoes are cooked, heat up a small pan on med-low heat to prepare a roux. Melt the butter, and add the flour, stirring constantly until it forms a thin paste. Cook for about a minute.
  11. Add the roux to the stew to thicken. Make sure it all gets incorporated into the stew, leaving no clumps.
  12. Serve over hot aromatic rice and top with some fresh diced tomato. I also added some chopped green onion and diced avocado… not sure if it’s especially authentic, but it added some nice colour and I wanted to use up an avocado.

Missing Cuba

Today was gloomy, and full of rain and freezing rain.

It made me miss Cuba.

In an attempt to get back a little piece of Cuba, I decided to look up some Cuban recipes. I’ve made a few Cuban dishes before, but I have a hard time knowing if it tastes the way it’s supposed to. There aren’t many Cuban restaurants here in Toronto, and we just found out that the one we usually went to is closed. Boo!

I just bought some Mahi-Mahi, which reminded me of our last trip to Cuba. I paired it with some Moros Y Cristianos (rice and black beans) and drizzled with Cuban Mojo. “Moros y Cristianos” means Moors and Christians – the white rice and black beans representing the cultural mix of Cuba’s early settlers.

Cuban - Mahi-Mahi and Moros Y Cristianos

I think I missed again.

I have to say that this didn’t turn out quite the way I expected. I don’t think the mojo recipe is quite how I remember it from Cuba (a little less blended, more mixed, and less like a super tangy garlicky mayo). It was a little overpowering. The Moros y Cristianos turned out pretty yummy, but it took a little longer to cook because I chose to use brown basmati rice instead of regular white rice. That, and I can see that it isn’t the typical dish found in Cuba — their dish is coloured almost entirely by the black beans (see this photo, the dish on the left). I’m not sure if they start with dried beans normally, or if they put the canning liquid into the dish to get that colour. In any case, mine was good, but not quite right.

I still miss Cuba. Next time I’m making plantain fritters or yuca fritas. Yummy!

Recipes after the Jump

Continue reading Missing Cuba