What can I say, rice always seems to make its way into my 'fast and easy' meal choices during the week. Needless to say, we eat a lot of rice in our house, and my version of rice pilaf has a bit of delightful toasted orzo added to it, transforming it into what my husband likes to call 'rice a roni, but better.'
This one is especially quick since a lot of the ingredients are easy to keep on hand for whenever the mood strikes you to whip something like this up. It's definitely filling enough for a meal for 3 and elegant (and easy) enough as a side with a larger meal for special guests. I put mushrooms in just about everything, but feel free to tweak it by adding or subbing in some of your favorite veg.
INGREDIENTS
for the lemony rice pilaf
1 cup of your favorite long grain rice
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
peel and juice of medium lemon
2 tsp sea salt
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
for the spinach and chickpeas
1 lb bag of frozen organic chopped spinach
1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
and smashed a bit with potato masher
1 medium onion, chopped
10 oz cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Place a medium pot that has a tight fitting lid over medium heat. Add the oil, butter and onion and saute till the onion begins turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the orzo and stir constantly till the orzo has become golden brown. Add the rice and stir for another 2 minutes, then add the broth, lemon juice and peel. Bring to a boil over high and stir once, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit covered for 10 additional minutes.
While the rice is cooking, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil and onion with a pinch of salt. Saute till softened, about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook till the liquid has released, then add the frozen spinach and another pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, then uncover and cook for another 5 - 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chickpeas and stir well, cooking long enough for them to be heated through.
Remove the lemon peel from the rice and fluff with a fork. Serve the spinach and chickpeas over the rice and top with the feta or parm. This dish is great served family style, particularly if it will be as a side, or in individual bowls.
Recently my mom was asking me if I knew of some versatile new seasoning she could try to liven up her cooking a bit. I felt a bit stuck in a rut myself, and remembered that I've always wanted to try making sofrito but have been too lazy... so of course I told my mom she should make it, since she usually has more gumption than me in the kitchen. Luckily my mom has always been very generous, and froze me a cup of this amazing stuff. It can really go in just about anything, particularly any Latin American dish, and make it something really spectacular. Sofrito is so fragrant that its pungent aroma can be noticed through a zip lock bag, after the sofrito has been frozen.
I had a bunch of leftover braised pork shoulder from a ramen experiment, and had no idea what to do with it. I remembered the sofrito my mom had left me in the freezer and knew I should incorporate that. I just started cooking, not having any clue where I was going to end up, but thankfully I wrote it all down because this meal ended up being really tasty. Not to mention fast, which is what I needed the day I made it since my daughter needed my undivided attention, hence the lack of photos in this post.
INGREDIENTS
for the sofrito rice
1 cup of your favorite long grain rice
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 cup sofrito
1 3/4 cups low sodium chicken stock or water
2 tsp adobo seasoning
for the twice cooked pork
~2 lb cooked pork shoulder (about 4 cups)
-I prepared mine by slowly braising it in a stock that had been made by simmering dried
shitake mushrooms and kotsuobushi, but any way you've cooked it (unless its been
slathered in barbecue sauce) where a mild flavor is yielded should work.
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 heaping Tbsp adobo seasoning
1 tsp cumin
6 - 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup unfiltered cider vinegar
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Place a medium pot over medium high heat and add the sunflower oil and onion. Saute for about 3 minutes, then add the sofrito. Cook till nearly all the moisture has evaporated, then add the rice. Saute for a few minutes till most of the rice has toasted a bit and turned opaque. Add the stock or water and adobo. Bring to a boil, giving it a couple good stirs while it comes up to temp. Cover and dial heat back to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the rice sit for another 10 - 15 minutes, covered. Don't peek!
While the rice is cooking, place a large enameled cast iron pan or non-stick skillet over medium heat. While the skillet is heating up, quickly pull apart the cooked pork if needed. Add the oil and pork to the pan, followed by the garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir. Cook and stir occasionally till nearly every bit of moisture has evaporated and the pork starts sizzling again. Add a bit more vinegar or hot sauce to taste.
Fluff the rice with a fork and serve in a large bowl, topping it with the pork and black beans. Serve with lots of hot sauce, or some nice crema and cilantro, or serve it along side some corn tortillas or roll it all up in a burrito. Either way, it's going to be really delicious.
*updated 9.24.13
I've always loved fried rice, but never made it at home. We used to get Chinese take out frequently enough that I never had the desire or need to make it at home. Since we've cut down on eating out, I've been craving it something awful. I figured, how hard can it actually be to make? Not very! I know the instructions seem way too long for this to be an easy meal, but it's only very descriptive since the length of cooking time varies for the veg, and to keep it simple a little order is needed.
The only 'trick' involved in making this dish is using 'day old' rice, which really means cold rice. You can definitely make the rice the day you want to prepare fried rice, you just have to ensure the rice is completely cold before doing so. Being an infamously impatient person when it comes to food, I surprisingly find it easier to make the rice the night before, and let it cool enough to put it in the fridge. Then I can make it whenever I want over the next few days - no pressure.
This dish comes together in a snap, and we've started referring to it as 'garbage rice', much in the same vain as garbage eggs. You can throw whatever is in your fridge that looks good in here. I'm only including in the recipe what I used for the batch pictured, but you can really get creative here. Or not. That's the beauty of fried rice. Add some protein and make it a complete meal, or keep it very simple for a side.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice, or your favorite
rice
2 3/4 - 3 cups water (if using brown rice, use all 3)
2 Tbsp canola or neutral oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 lb button mushrooms (or any other favorite),
thickly sliced
7 - 10 radishes, halved then cut into sixths
1 cup frozen peas (I prefer petit pois)
1/4 purple cabbage (or your fave variety), thinly
sliced
1 bunch (usually 6 - 10) scallions, sliced thinly on
the bias, with a bit set to the side for garnish
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
~4 Tbsp post poaching liquid, Bragg's Amino Acids or fave soy sauce
for the chicken (optional)
2/3 cup Bragg's Amino Acids or low sodium soy
sauce
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 inch knob of peeled ginger, smashed
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sake (optional)
1 - 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
other ingredients you may have on hand or want to try...
bamboo shoots, baby corn, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, tofu, pork or beef, edamame, sliced turnip, sweet potato, snow peas, kale or any other green, quinoa in place of rice... go crazy.
If using brown rice, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the rice and bring back to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 40 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit covered (don't peek, no matter how much you're tempted) for 15 more minutes. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. To cool down fast, spread rice out on a cookie sheet till room temp, then place it in the fridge to get cold. If using rice on a later date, you can still use the same method, just pack it up in an air tight container and toss in the fridge.
*If using a white rice, add a bit of oil to you pan and saute the rice till it becomes more opaque, then add the water. Bring to a boil and cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The remaining preparation is the same as with brown rice.
I like to make the chicken first, so it can cool while I prepare the fried rice. Combine the Bragg's or soy, garlic, ginger, mirin and sake in a small pot. Cut the breast(s) into 2 equal pieces. Place into the poaching liquid and turn heat on to low and cover. Keep an eye on this, as you don't want it to do anything more than a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the chicken and set aside. Crank the heat up to medium high for 5 minutes to reduce the poaching liquid a bit. Set aside till cool enough to touch, then shred with your fingers into bite size pieces.
In a very large pan, add the canola oil and dial heat up to medium high. Add the mushrooms and cook till they've released all their liquid, about 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the radishes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook till it becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Don't forget to stir occasionally between the additions.
Dump in all your cold rice at once and stir very well. Add the frozen peas and shredded chicken and stir well. Push the rice up to the sides of the pan to make a little 'well' in the middle of the pan. Add the 1 Tbsp of sesame oil and the beaten eggs. Scramble your eggs, leaving big curds if that's what you prefer, or stir constantly to get a smaller curd. Stir the rice into the eggs, then add the scallions. Add ~4 Tbsp of the poaching liquid (more or less, depending on your tastes. Start with a little - you can always add more) and stir well. Taste for seasoning and serve with a sprinkle of sliced scallion and extra soy sauce or poaching liquid. Any extra poaching liquid can be stored in a squeeze bottle or airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 1 week.
