Ways with... Versatile and filling rice
Follow the example of more than half the world’s population, and tuck into some rice.
The recent plea to stop feeding birds breadcrumbs reminded me of the poem by Wellington writer Adrienne Jansen, which weaves stories from South Asian refugees in New Zealand.
She said, I am putting this rice/ outside for the birds./But birds don’t eat rice, I said… They eat bread./ Later, I looked./They had left the bread/and eaten the rice instead.
Rice is the staple food for more than half the world’s population, and more than 40,000 varieties are grown on every continent except Antarctica. I’m not sure it’s an avian superfood, but if it’s good enough for 50 per cent of the general population you can surely find a way to include it in your meals this week. Here are ways to get you started.
Black rice salad with avocado, grapes and almonds
Serves 3-4 as a substantial salad Preparation time: 40 minutes (includes cooking rice) Cooking time: nil
Black rice has an almost smoky flavour and a slightly chewy texture, making it great for salads like this one, which is also great for take-to-work lunches. 1 cup black rice 1 1⁄2 cups cold water 1 cup black grapes, halved if large 1 avocado, peeled and diced cup diced celery cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
cup finely chopped fresh mint For the dressing: 2 cloves garlic, crushed with 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
teaspoon honey 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Put the rice and the water in a medium-sized pot. Cover and bring to the boil, lower the heat and cook for another 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it stand, covered, for another five minutes.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the dressing. Put the garlic, honey and vinegar in a large serving bowl and mix well. Add the oil and whisk together until emulsified.
When the rice is cooked, tip it into the bowl of dressing and stir together until well mixed. Add the grapes, avocado, celery, almonds and mint, and fold together until combined. Any leftovers can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to three days.
Coconut caramel rice pudding
Serves 2-3 Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes
I’d never encountered rice pudding until I went to boarding school, where it was every bit as horrible as you might imagine. We always suspected the cooks just dumped leftover rice into hot milk and left it to form a thick skin in the oven. But this version, which I dreamed up during a long run in pouring rain, is so delicious I could eat a potful all by myself and then slip into a blissful carbohydrate coma. 1 generous tablespoon butter 1 firmly packed tablespoon brown sugar Pinch of salt
1⁄3 cup arborio rice 1 1⁄4 cups thick coconut milk (or half coconut milk, half coconut cream)
1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Coconut cream or coconut yoghurt, to serve
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the sugar, salt and rice, and stir to ensure the rice is well-coated in the butter and sugar. Continue stirring and start adding the coconut milk, about a quarter of a cup at a time. Keep stirring until the milk is absorbed, then add in more as if making risotto (this part of the process takes about 15 minutes). Add the remaining milk and the vanilla, then cover the pot and lower the heat. Let the rice cook for another five minutes, or until soft but not mushy.
Remove from the heat and let stand for five minutes, then divide between serving bowls. Top each with a little cold coconut cream or coconut yoghurt and a sprinkle of brown sugar before serving. More of Lucy’s recipes at kitchen-maid.blogspot.co.nz