Rice four ways

One of the challenges of cooking for one or two is always going to be the effective use of ingredients.  There are things that are just too big for one serving.  One alternative is to have the market or grocery portion things for you.  For example, I can’t imagine us devouring an entire watermelon before the cut watermelon goes bad, but the store may sell cut and portioned watermelon. The difference in price can be outrageous ($4.99/lb v. 25¢/lb) but sometimes you really want watermelon and I don’t want to throw out half a watermelon.

I recently had the same problem with rice.  I had picked up some beautiful bell peppers from the market and thought of stuffing them.  The thing is, I’d need less than 1/2 cup of cooked rice, which means less than 1/4 cup of uncooked rice, and I don’t have a saucepan small enough to cook 1/4 cup of rice.  I wanted those stuffed peppers so badly though, that I decided to forge ahead with a full cup of rice and then figure out what to do with the unused rice.  It turns out that it took four entirely separate dishes to use up the rice but everything worked out fine in the end.  We also managed to visit cuisines from Italy, Persia, India, and China along the way.

Recipe – Stuffed peppers

This is an improvised recipe using primarily Italian flavors and methods.  Very easy to make but you do need to dedicate at least 30 minutes to cooking the peppers.

Ingredients

2 bell peppers, cored (different colors makes for a nice presentation)

1/2 cup cooked rice (will depend on the size of the peppers)

1 garlic clove, minced

1-2 anchovies to taste

1 tbl capers

1 tbl parsley, chopped fine

1 tbl extra virgin olive oil with additional for coating the peppers

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Mix the rice, garlic, anchovies, capers, parsley, and olive oil in a bowl.  Add salt (it may be unnecessary since both the anchovies and capers are salty) and pepper to taste.  Brush a thin coat of olive oil around the outside of the peppers.  Carefully stuff the peppers with the rice mixture.  Cook until the peppers are soft, at least 30 minutes. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and serve.

Recipe – rice pudding

This recipe was inspired by Enchantingly Easy Persian Cooking although it has what I think is a major edit. The recipe calls for some rosewater to be added right before serving.  I haven’t yet been able to find rosewater in a store and the smallest quantity I could find on Amazon was $12.  Actually, I did find rosewater at Whole Foods – in the skin care and fragrances section for about $11.  Since I wasn’t entirely comfortable with putting a skin care product in a dessert, I skipped it.  Someday, I’ll actually add rosewater and report back what happens. Rosewater or not, it’s a lovely, sweet, and light dessert.

Ingredients

3/4 cup cooked rice

2 cups milk

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg beaten

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled & chopped

1 tbl butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Mix the rice, 1 1/2 cups of milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir frequently until the mixture is thick and creamy – 12 to 18 minutes.  Add the remaining milk, the egg, raisins, and pistachios and stir for another 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.  Serve chilled.

Recipe – Yogurt rice

I saw at least two dozen recipes on Indian cooking websites for yogurt rice (sometimes curds and rice) and invariably it was described as comfort food.  Most sites described how it should be served with an Indian pickle after consuming a spicy meal.  Well, I’m not Indian and this didn’t really strike me as something I’d describe as a comfort food.  It was however, a very nice piquant, tart side dish.  I’m going to make this again.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice

1 tbl ghee (clarified butter – if it’s not available, use vegetable oil)

1 dried red chile (not having access to Indian chiles, I used 2 Sichuan chiles with seeds removed)

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tbl curry leaves (the recipes invariably call for fresh but I could only find dried)

1/4 cup milk

1 cup plain yogurt

salt to taste

Directions

Heat the oil to medium and add the chiles.  Cook for 30 seconds until the chiles are fragrant and begin to turn brown.  Add the mustard seeds and cook until you hear they begin to pop – about 30 seconds.  Remove from heat and mix in turmeric and curry leaves.

Whisk milk, yogurt, and spice mixture in a bowl until smooth.  Add rice and mix thoroughly.  Test for salt.  Serve at room temperature.

Recipe – Chorizo & celery

This recipe’s origins are murky.  It could be inspired by Fuschia Dunlop’s Every Grain of Sand or by my grandfather.  Dunlop has a recipe I’ve made often called Sichuan “Run-down-the-rice” celery with ground beef that is essentially ground beef flash cooked in a wok mixed with  celery chopped fine and cooked in a wok, seasoned with chile bean paste, Chinese vinegar, and ginger, and then served with rice.  Great taste and very simple to put together.

My grandfather was no expert cook.  In fact, he only knew how to make one thing – American chop suey.  His version was as much hamburger as he had on hand, a can of chopped tomatoes, some celery, and three or four shakes of Italian seasoning.  Serve with elbow macaroni.

After the stuffed peppers, rice pudding and yogurt rice, I still had a little rice left.  I also had some chorizo left over from something I did a couple days earlier and three ribs of celery that would last that long.  I don’t know whether the inspiration came from Dunlop or my grandfather, but the direction came to me, although with a Mexican twist.  The results were a perfectly delicious lunch and a cleaner refrigerator.  The recipe shows what I had available – your efforts will reflect whatever you have available.  Go for it.

Ingredients

6 oz of chorizo, casings removed

3 ribs of celery, halved lengthwise and chopped into 1/4″ slices

1 tomato, diced

1 tbl adobo seasoning

4 oz cooked rice

Directions

Cook (or reheat) the chorizo in a skillet over medium-low until the sausage begins to render.  Add the celery and cover.  Cook for 5-6 minutes until the celery begins to soften and remove the cover.  Add the tomato and seasoning and stir until the tomato begins to break down and the liquid begins to thicken.  Stir in the rice.  When everything is hot, serve in a shallow bowl.