rice sqares

For her birthday party Teresa asked us to bring something to nibble with drinks, so…

I put the kettle on to make some stock with a teaspoon of vegetable stock granules. I sautè half a finely chopped onion in a little olive oil, and then add 2 cups of risotto rice (Carnaroli or Vialone Nano). I add 4 cups of stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. I put the rice into a bowl to cool, then add a generous handful of parmesan, herbs ( dried or fresh) and two beaten eggs. I taste for salt and pepper. I put the mixture into a shallow roasting tin lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes (180°C) until lightly coloured. When cool, I cut the “cake” into bite-sized squares. I leave half the squares as they are and wrap the others in a small piece of speck or Parma ham.

PS. Thanks for the nice party, Ter!

rice

I like plainly boiled rice with a curry or where there is a lot of sauce, otherwise I prefer to use an absorption method.

I gently sauté a little finely chopped onion in butter and olive oil. Then I add a cupful of Uncle Ben’s long grain rice, a few stock granules, salt and pepper. I coat the rice well in the onion and fat. Then I add slightly under 2 cups of water. When it’s boiling, I cover and turn down the heat to a minimum. It cooks in about 10 minutes and will keep warm for 5 minutes more.

The picture shows meatballs with rice. You can pimp the rice with turmeric for a nice yellow colour, or Indian spices for heat, or add frozen peas.

spicy chicken

I normally use curry powder for this quick chicken dish, but sometimes I make my own mix.

I grind the following spices in a pestle and mortar: cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, fennel seeds, a few cloves and 2 or 3 dried chillies. I add some ground turmeric and ground cinnamon. I rub the chicken pieces with the spice mix, salt and a tablespoon of flour. I sauté the meat in olive oil over a brisk flame and when coloured, I add two tablespoons of yogurt mixed with a little water. I continue stir frying until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

As William came by for lunch today, I made some rice too. I sauté onion in oil, add a cup of long grain rice and, when nicely coated, two cups of water. I bring it to the boil,  season with salt and pepper, cover tightly and simmer on a low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice cooked.

 

rice salad

There was meatloaf left over from yesterday, but not enough for three, so I made a rice salad to go with it.

I boil 200 gm of long grain rice in salted water for 8 to 10 minutes, drain it well and dress with a little extra-virgin olive oil and the juice of a lemon. While it cools, I get on with the vegetables. I slice an aubergine , a pepper and two courgettes lengthways and cook them in the “grill” pan of the microwave, which is on the combined grill/wave function. I sprinkle salt and a little olive oil over them and cook for 12 minutes  turning the vegetables once. With this quantity I do two batches. I halve a few tomatoes and cook them in the same way for about 3-4 minutes, turning once. If the microwave scares you, or you don’t have the specially coated grill pan, you can oven roast the vegetables at 200°C for 45minutes.

I cut the grilled vegetables and add them to the rice with some chopped mint. I check the seasoning and arrange the tomato halves on top. Augusta said a few black olives would have been a good addition too.