Sultana Rice With Quinoa

This is a nice sneaky way of getting quinoa into the kids without them really noticing due to the sultanas and nigella seeds!

It would take a great deal of patience for a fussy child to pick the quinoa out and my boys loved the sweetness of the sultanas so never really noticed anything else!

Serves 4.

Ingredients

50g butter or oil

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced

A pinch of chilli flakes

100g basmati rice, washed and drained

70g white quinoa, washed and drained

25g red quinoa, washed and drained

75g sultanas

400mls water

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons nigella seeds

Method

In a lidded pan, heat the butter over high heat and then add the onion, cook until beginning to colour.

Reduce the heat and add the chilli and garlic, cook for one minute.

Now add the rice, both quinoa and sultanas, stir to coat.

Pour in the water and season.

Cover. Bring the pan up to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 20 minutes, do not remove the lid!

Turn the heat off, leave the lid on and let sit for ten minutes.

Remove the lid and stir in half of the nigella seeds and the parsley.

Spoon into a warmed serving plate and sprinkle over the remaining seeds.

Warm Rice Salad

As we roll through summer here in Western Australia salad becomes my go to veg option and now with the boys being teenagers, I need to bulk out the salads more to fill them up!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

200g basmati rice

375mls water

120g iceberg lettuce, finely shredded

100g cucumber, finely sliced lengthwise, I use a potato peeler

4 large spring onions, sliced at an angle

80g fresh coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped

6 dried figs, chopped into 4-6 pieces each

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

80g shelled pistachios

25mls lime juice

25mls olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sumac

Salt and pepper

Method

Wash the rice, pour it into a pan with a tight fitting lid, add the water and cover. Bring the rice up to the boil and then simmer, covered for 12minutes. Turn the heat off and let the rice sit for 10minutes. Do not take the lid off during the cooking and sitting period!

Allow the rice to cool a little.

Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat and add the pistachios.

Dry roast for 3 minutes and then tip the nuts onto a chopping board.

Once the nuts are cool enough to handle, roughly chop.

Combine the lime juice, oil, sumac, salt and pepper, check the seasoning.

Fork through the rice and tip into a large bowl, add the vegetables, fruit and nuts, stir well, finally pour in the dressing and stir again before serving.

I sometimes keep a few pistachios back to throw on top at the end.

Red Chilli Rice

I love this rice for popping into burritos along with what we call taco coleslaw.

Apart from being a gorgeous colour, this rice has bags of flavour and can really stand alone if you are having it as a side dish.

Leftovers reheat well and I send the boys to school with rice filled wraps too, anything to fill them up!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

1 x 400g tin crushed tomatoes

1 small onion, peeled and quartered

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 chipotle chilli in Adobe sauce

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried dill tips

1 lime, juiced

75g butter or oil

400g basmati rice

750mls water

Method

Combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle chilli, oregano, dill, lime juice and salt in a food processor and whizz to make a loose paste.

Heat the butter in a pan that you will use to cook the rice.

Pour in the tomato paste and simmer gently for 30mins until dark and thickened.

Add the rice to the pan and cook for 1 minute and then add the water, stir, cover and bring up to the boil.

Simmer for 18 minutes, turn the heat off but leave the lid on.

After 10 minute rest, remove the lid, stir the rice and serve.

Stirfried Rice With Sweetcorn And Chipotle Chilli

Admittedly, this sounds a bit odd but as a way of using up leftovers and giving them a new lease in life this is fantastic recipe.

I like to have this rice with Mexican themed food but it goes well with pretty much anything and I’ve happily eaten the rice on its own or with an egg for breakfast.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

60mls olive oil

50mls water

1 clove garlic

2 chipotle chillies in adobe sauce, seeds removed

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

600g cooked and cooled rice

400g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted

60g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks roughly chopped

Method

Using a stick blender, whizz the oil, water, garlic, chipotle chillies and adobe sauce to form a thin paste.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, pour the chipotle paste into the pan and cook over the medium heat until all of the water has evaporated.

Turn the heat up to high and add the rice, breaking up any lumps.

Stir the rice well so that it’s completely covered in the chipotle paste.

Add the sweetcorn to the pan and again stir well.

Now, stirring the rice occasionally, cook for 5 minutes, I like to let it form a crust on the base as it cooks as this adds lots of colour to the dish.

Stir through the coriander and serve.

 

 

Bejewelled Rice

I am a great fan of flavoured rice and this rice has a great spice base that the cranberries go so well with.

Serves 8.

Ingredients

50g ghee or oil

1 large red onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

5 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

pinch saffron

salt to taste

120g dried cranberries

360g basmati rice

750mls water

Method

In a pan with a well fitting lid, warm the ghee or oil over a medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until soft.

Add the garlic, cranberries, cumin, cinnamon, chilli, saffron and salt, heat through until fragrant.

Add the rice, stir well and cook for one minute.

Add the cold water, stir again and and then cover, bring up to the boil and then simmer gently for 14 minutes.

Turn the heat off but do not remove the lid for 5 minutes.

After five minutes, fork the rice through and serve.

Tomato and Saffron Rice

The colour of this rice really says it all.

By cooking down the tomato to a paste you have an intensely flavoured base to this rice and you can make the paste ahead of time and keep it in the fridge if you have limited time. I also sometimes double the paste recipe and just freeze half for another day.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

450g fresh tomatoes, quartered

1 onion peeled

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 cinnamon stick

4 cloves

a large pinch of saffron

1 teaspoon salt

50g ghee or oil

300g rice

425mls water

Method

Process the tomatoes, onion, garlic and 50mls water.

Heat the ghee or oil over a medium to high heat, pour in the tomato mix, add the cinnamon, cloves, saffron and salt, stir well and bring up to the boil.

Allow the tomatoes to simmer, uncovered until all of the liquid has evaporated and you have a thick paste in the pan.

Stir the rice through the paste and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the cold water, stir again and cover, bring up to the boil and then reduce heat, cook, covered for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, turn the heat off but leave the rice, covered for 10 minutes.

Fork through the rice before serving.

Rice With Spices and Barberries

This lightly spiced rice goes so well with any Middle Eastern cooking.

There is a recipe for making your own jars of caramelised onions on the blog, sorry, I haven’t a clue how to include a link! These onions are so handy to have in the fridge for those days when you just don’t have time to cook onions low and slow.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

100g caramelised onions

200g basmati rice

1 teaspoon ground all spice

1 teaspoon ground coriander

a pinch of ground cinnamon

a pinch of saffron strands

375mls vegetable or chicken stock

10g barberries

Method

In a pan with  a tight fitting lid, warm the onions through over a medium heat.

Add the rice and stir through for 1 minute.

Add the allspice, coriander, cinnamon and saffron, stir well.

Pour in the stock and add the barberries. Stir again.

Cover with the lid and bring up to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer gently for 14 minutes.

Turn the heat off but keep the lid in place, let the rice sit for 5 minutes.

Fork through the rice and serve.

Saffron Rice

It doesnt look like much but don’t be fooled by my awful photographic skills.

This is a brilliantly flavoured rice dish that can go with so many main meals, we have it as part of a mezze style dinner to help fill the teenagers up!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

60g butter or olive oil

3 medium onions, peeled, halved and cut into thin slices

1 pinch of saffron

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

200g Basmati rice

375mls vegetable or chicken stock

Method

In a pan with a tight fitting lid, heat the butter or oil over a medium heat and add the onions.

Cook the onions until a deep golden brown colour, regularly scraping the gooey bits off the base of the pan, this can take 30-40minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and stir through the onions, add the saffron and chilli followed by the stock.

Cover and bring up to the boil, turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 14minutes, do not remove the lid!

After 14 minutes, turn the heat off and leave the covered pan for 10 minutes before removing the lid and lightly forking through the rice before serving.

Forbidden Black Rice Salad

I am fairly new to black rice but I’m already a fan, it has so much flavour and makes amazing salads.

Leftovers from dinner go into the boys lunches as a wrap filling with a little leftover chicken or pork.

Serves 10.

Ingredients

200g black rice

500mls water

3 spring onions, sliced finely

250g snow peas, cut into pieces no larger than 1cm

1/2 a head of broccoli, tiny florets broken off, stalks chopped very finely

2 eggs, hard boiled, grated

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons black rice vinegar

1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method

Wash the rice and tip into a pan with a well fitting lid.

Add the water, cover and bring up to the boil.

Allow to simmer, covered for 35minutes. Leave the lid on and allow the rice to cool in the pan.

Once the rice has cooled, run it under some cold water and set aside to drain.

In a small bowl, whisk the sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Check the flavour, you may prefer a little more soy.

In a large bowl combine the salad ingredients and pour over the dressing, stir well through and allow it to sit to develop the flavours for two hours before serving.

Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding

There is something so comforting about rice pudding!

To make a change I have started using frozen fresh coconut which adds a lovely texture to the pudding, and of course, lots of flavour.

I buy my frozen grated coconut from my local Asian store, a great place to stock up on coconut milk too as well as all my usual spices!

Serves 8, leftovers are yummy hot or cold and work week for in the boys lunch boxes too.

Ingredients

150g arborio rice

90g caster sugar

70g frozen fresh grated coconut

270mls tin coconut milk

1.7litres full cream milk

50g butter, diced

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Centigrade.

Grease a large oven proof dish with at least a 3litre capacity.

Weigh the rice, sugar, coconut and milk  into the dish.

Top with the cubed butter.

Bake in the oven for 90 mins, stirring every 20-30mins, don’t stir for the final 30mins.