This ancient and venerable grain has been cultivated since at least 5000 b.c., and archaeological explorations in China have uncovered sealed pots of rice that are almost 8,000 years old. Today, rice is a staple for almost half the world's population — particularly in parts of China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Southeast Asia. The 7,000-plus varieties of rice are grown in one of two ways. Aquatic rice (paddy-grown) is cultivated in flooded fields. The lower-yielding, lower-quality hill-grown rice can be grown on almost any tropical or subtropical terrain. source : Food Dictionary
When Pim announced that she would be hosting the next Is My Blog Burning? Event and that the topic would be rice, at first I became very excited. (hooray, another IMBB, these events are becoming as addicting as they are fun) I immediately left a comment on Pim's Blog letting her know I would definitely be participating. That turned out to be the easy part. The hard part was deciding on a recipe that would be interesting and challenging to make, yet represent what rice, a grain that up until now I had taken for granted; meant to me. I grew up eating Carolina® brand rice and occasionally some dishes made with Arborio, like risotto, but I never really knew just how many varieties of rice there were out there. I thought Pim's choice of topic was going to be easy, giving me a reason me to finally cook something from my as of yet unused copy of Seductions of Rice by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, but when I opened the book and started flipping through it, nothing really jumped out or inspired me.
I grew up eating rice boiled and buttered, served as a side dish or in soup. There was the occasional risotto, arancini di riso, or fried rice from the local Chinese take-away. When I was sick it took the form of a bowl of Nonna's chicken soup, which I would greedily slurp, hoping to chase away whatever evil germ had seized hold of my body. My very first paella was cooked by one of my mother's closest friends, in our kitchen in Brooklyn and without a paella pan! It was one of the best paellas I've ever had, why, I don't know, but maybe it had a lot to do with the fact that it was cooked with love and that we all crowded around the table to eat it together as a family, unhurried, and with gusto and lots of laughter. When I was in college, it was late nights with friends, all you can eat sushi and (too) many bottles of ice cold Tsingtao. After college, the most fragrant and fluffy biryani I ever had was in an Indian restaurant in Nairobi, dining at a round table with 10 friends and no lights, the power having gone out just as we had been seated. The waiters tried desperately to get the generator working again while we ate by candlelight and drank (too) many bottles of lukewarm Tusker Beer and marveled at how in the world the kitchen staff was managing to keep the food hot, tasty and flowing to our table in the dark. All these dishes were certainly worthy of trying to recreate for IMBB? IV but I felt too close to the memories of the meals and didn't think I could possibly do them any justice...if that makes sense.
So with all the thousands of varieties of the grain and the equally extensive ways in which to cook it, I found myself at a loss for what to make for this event. This was turning out to be a lot harder than expected and so I packed Little Miss Muffet into her carrier and went to my beloved Kalustyan's for inspiration. Their website boasts 136 entries for rice alone and while I don't think they carry that many varieties in the store, it was overwhelming to stand there looking at all they did have to offer. Then it hit me, the one thing I could make, the one dish that is so personal and that plays a large and important role in my so called food life is rice pudding. It is comfort food, it has always been there, it will always be there. On a steamy hot summer day, when the heat and humidity are too much to bear a dish filled with chilled, refreshing rice pudding, sometimes sprinkled with cinnamon, sometimes not, maybe with a raisin or two thrown in, maybe not, hits the spot in a way that leaves me happy and grateful. When I've got the blahs, a warm creamy bowl of rice pudding sets me straight like almost nothing else can and so it was decided, right there in Kalustyan's, that for the fourth IMBB I would make rice pudding!
Now, if you haven't noticed, I like to challenge myself in the kitchen and so a regular rice pudding recipe for this cooking event, in my mind, was too easy. It has been too long between actual cooking and blog entries about cooking these days, what with the warm weather and never being home anymore...so I wanted this IMBB entry to be something special, something I had never done. I found just what I was looking for on the Saveur website, a recipe for Empanadas de Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding Turnovers). To challenge myself further, I decided to make the tortillas from scratch, having never made those before either. woohoo, this was going to be fun!
I made the rice pudding first, so that while I was making the tortillas the rice pudding could cool down and set, making it much easier for me to handle later on.
~ adapted from Saveur
1. Put the cinnamon stick and 2 cups water in a medium heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and remove and discard cinnamon stick.
2. Add milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and salt and mix well. I couldn't resist adding a few of my own touches and so at this point I stirred in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the zest of half a lemon, the result was fragrant and married well with the cinnamon Increase heat to medium. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick (pudding should hold its shape firmly in a spoon), about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
The tortillas were easy and surprisingly quick to make, I may never buy the store bought kind again. I hand rolled them using a rolling pin. I really got into a great groove with the hand rolling. (ah yes, wax on, wax off) I combined two recipes I found on the internet, this one and this one modifying them slightly to fit to my own preferences.
In a large bowl, stir together 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 4 teaspoons baking powder (a small whisk works really well for stirring this). With a pastry blender, a fork, or your hands (I used my hands and it felt weird yet oddly addictive too), gradually work in 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening (or lard, although I used shortening) until it is all incorporated. Add enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough. (pictured above)
Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, then, invert a bowl over the mass of dough and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Return after 5 minutes to knead for another 5 minutes or until you have a smooth uniform mass, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
When thirty minutes have passed, uncover the dough and divide the dough into 1/4 cup (3 oz) portions and form them into balls. (pictured above)
I was pretty chuffed that the dough balls fit into the 1/4 cup measure after I had eyeballed the measurements go me! (pictured above)
Roll each ball into a flat round about 6 inches in diameter and 1/8 inches thick. (pictured above) I like doing tedious repetitive work like rolling dough, I actually get satisfaction from it. (I know I'm a sicko)
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Place the tortillas one at a time into the dry hot skillet; once or twice during the tortilla making a couple of the tortilla's created an air pocket and made bubbles, I didn't concern myself too much with that, I just used the tips of my tongs to pop them (pictured above)
cook until brown on one side, then turn and brown the other side. Remove from the skillet and keep warm in cloth towel. (pictured above)
I used a bamboo steamer lined with a clean kitchen towel to hold the warm tortilla's until I needed them (pictured above)
At this stage I was ready to assemble the empanadas, so, following the directions in the recipe I combined 1/4 cup sugar with ground cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
I Measured a scant 1/2 cup pudding into the center of each tortilla (pictured above)
A while back, my friend Miguel had given me a brick of chocolate that had been handmade by his Aunts in Mexico. (pictured above) His intention was for me to use it to make Mexican hot chocolate but I have yet to get around to that and as I was making the empanadas I got the idea to grate a little of the cocoa onto the rice pudding for an extra treat. (pictured below)
So with the cocoa grated over the top of the rice pudding I folded the tortilla in half, pressing gently to close edges, then tucked the extra tortilla under itself using a dab of the sticky rice filling as a glue to keep the empanadas closed. (pictured above) I think it worked out well (pictured below)
I lined them up like little soldiers on another clean kitchen towel (pictured above) while I add enough oil to come to a depth of ⅛'' up the side of a large cast-iron skillet and heated the oil over medium heat until it was hot but not smoking.
Working in batches, I fried the empanadas until crispy and deep golden brown (pictured above), 2-3 minutes per side, then removed them to paper towels to drain.
Rather than just sprinkle both sides of each one with cinnamon sugar like the recipe called for, I also gave each empanada a generous grating of Mexican chocolate. (pictured above)
These were a lot of fun to make and were an interesting way to eat rice pudding. I can see making these for an informal outdoor party, treats for folks to walk around with and eat with their hands. The chocolate and cinnamon went really well together and the savory taste of the tortilla balanced out nicely with the sweet and chewy rice pudding. I highly recommend eating them hot, they aren’t bad cold, just much better fresh and hot the cast iron pan.
And now for a little baby talk.
Coinciding with this IMBB topic of rice was the beginning of Ellina's journey into solid foods. The Dr. had me start her on a few tablespoons of rice cereal a day to get her acquainted with the feel and taste of foods other than her formula. Rice, from what I understand, is the most easily digested by young stomachs and so it is a good food to start them out with. It took about a week before Ellie took to the texture and taste, but as you can see here, she is beginning to really like her cereal time.
Served hot, these tasty treats are fragrant and crispy on the outside but soft and yielding on the inside with little charred bits of browned garlicky goodness and a salty/vinegary bite of anchovies and capers that is just sooo good. If you add some crushed red pepper to the anchovy/caper/garlic paste and a squeeze of lemon just before serving then we are talking food Nirvana. Best eaten hot with your fingers (well, don't actually eat your fingers but you know what I mean), anyway, they’re best eaten hot while standing over the stove, but if you must sit down, then I suggest finding a nice quiet place where no one will find you and the coat sleeves won't irritate the back of your head and dig in! I have crossed over to the other side, I am no longer sitting on the fence, this dish has made me a true convert...I LOVE POLENTA!
The Little Girl and I were out walking the other day, and since our walk was taking us past my beloved Kalustyan's I just had to stop in. I'm always in need of something or another from that wonderful store and this time it was dried chickpeas and some good thick yogurt. Whenever I'm in that place I just can't seem to simply run in, buy what I need and leave, I have to browse. For the amount of stuff they manage to pack into that place the store is actually small and the aisles are very narrow with some places being very hard to maneuver with the Baby Björn strapped to my chest, the grocery basket in my hand and my backpack (which is currently doubling as a diaper bag) on my arm, but somehow I managed, and that’s how I came across a bag of smoked Italian polenta. Okay, so polenta is basically cornmeal, and cornmeal I have plenty of at home, but none of it is smoked cornmeal, so I just had to try this. What I was going to do with it I didn’t know, because as I may have mentioned here before I am not (or rather was not) a big fan of polenta, but perhaps a sudden irresistible need for cornbread or some other thing would give me a reason to try it. The next day, my latest EBAY acquisition arrived in the mail, a book by the celebrity chef Mario Batali. I've been watching his Molto Mario show on the Food Network quite a bit recently and I've decided that I like what he cooks and what he has to say about food and cooking. I had dinner at Esca once when it first opened, and while I enjoyed the food, the dining experience was not so great, but that’s another story for another day. Anyway, I started flipping through Simple Italian Food and when I came across the recipe for Hot Polenta Sandwiches. I knew this was it, the reason to use the smoked polenta, YAY!
Just a couple of quick notes about the recipe:
While I could smell the smokey flavor when I opened the bag of polenta I couldn't tell if it made any real difference in the final product. I used a large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes in the anchovy/capers mixture and it was a good choice, adding a little heat to the filling without making it too unbearably spicy. Next time I'd use more garlic and more anchovies. Instead of olive oil I used some really lovely grapeseed oil infused with herbs that my friend Henry gave to me after a recent trip to California, it was fragrant and fruity and the herbs added a nice dimension to the polenta dish. The grapeseed oil worked really well for brushing onto the baking sheet but I did go ahead and used the suggested olive oil for the frying part of the recipe. Speaking of olive oil, I didn't want to deep fry and so I didn't use anywhere near as much oil as Mario instructed, instead I used about half that amount over a medium flame and it was just fine. I drained the polenta on papers towels to blot out any excess oil and with the leftover scraps of polenta I had after cutting I dipped and fried those too, they weren't as salty/garlicky as the sandwiches but it was still pretty tasty.
Adapted from Simple Italian Food by Mario Batali
serves 4
"These groovy hot antipasti can be made up to four hours in advance and then reheated in a hot oven for five minutes just before serving. They are generally served during the apertivo phase as an appetite teaser rather than at the table as an antipasto. "
Brush a large baking sheet with vegetable oil and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the salt. Whisking vigorously, slowly add the polenta in a thin stream and cook until quite thick, about 1 minute, switching to a wooden spoon to stir as the polenta thickens. Pour the polenta onto the baking sheet and spread with a spatula to a 1/8-to1/4-inch thickness, covering the sheet. Allow to cool 1 hour.
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until light brown. Add the anchovies and capers and stir until broken up into paste. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Place the flour on a plate. Break the eggs in a shallow bowl and beat gently with a fork.
Pour 3 inches of olive oil into a deep pot and heat to 360 degrees F.
While the oil is heating, cut the cooled polenta into 2-inch rounds using a glass or cookie cutter; you will have about 24 pieces. Place 1/2 teaspoon of anchovy mixture on the smooth side of a polenta disk and create a sandwich by covering with a second polenta disk, smooth side in. Press together. Dredge the sandwiches in flour, then egg, and deep-fry 4 or 5 at a time until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Serve hot.
What is it about polenta that I have so much trouble with? I'm a big pudding, oatmeal, farina, cream of wheat, cream of rice, gruel and porridge lover so it doesn't make sense to me that I have so much trouble eating polenta, but I do, and I'm not the only one. I very rarely make it at home because Tom and I are not crazy about it and yet, when I'm dining out, if it is served with my meal I usually eat it and enjoy it. In trying to understand what my aversion to it might be, I found this article, which basically says the difference between polenta and cornmeal is all in the grind. This makes sense, I do have a bit of trouble with the texture of polenta, I find it is often lumpy, which I don't like. I find it to be gritty, which you would think wouldn't bother me since I've been known to lick concrete after it rains because I thought it smelled good. ACK! Only a few times, and only when I was a kid, I swear! So why, if I don't really enjoy it, do I keep trying to like this stuff? I hate to say it, but I don't really know.
Sunday afternoon Tom and I watched an episode of Lidia's Italian American Kitchen on PBS. She was tempting us with a mouthwatering dish of braised short ribs that looked so good we were drooling. The final dish was served on a bed of polenta and both Tom and I agreed that it was a meal we would both enjoy with reckless abandon and without any regard for table manners even with the polenta. The polenta was prepared by her guest on the show, her son Joe. Joe gave out a tip for cooking polenta that I had never heard before, apparently, the key to lump-free polenta is to start with cold water and constant stirring. Oh yeah?
I decided to see if Joe was right.
To be fair, I didn't follow a Lidia or Son of Lidia recipe for polenta at all, just the method of starting with cold water and cold ingredients. I ended up surfing the internet for a while, looking up ways to make a polenta that would turn out creamy AND appeal to me. What I found were MANY variations, so, borrowing a little from each recipe, I came up with my own creation. It isn't the quickest method for making polenta around, but that didn't bother me. I was extremely happy with the results, but I'll be the first to admit, it isn’t diet food the way I prepared it either. While it was still piping hot, before it had hardened in that way polenta is known to do, I considered eating it right out of the pot, it was so creamy and good. I used white cornmeal, for no other reason except that was what I had in the house and also because I wanted the less grittier texture. For dinner, I served it under thinly pounded pork loin cutlets that had been dipped in flour, pan fried to just brown and then oven braised in a red, yellow, green bell pepper-tomato sauce seasoned with capers, fresh oregano, fresh marjoram, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, onions, salt and pepper and white balsamic vinegar. It was all very very good.
If anyone has a favorite way of preparing or eating polenta I'd love to know, I think if I give it half a chance I could start liking it quite a bit.
In a pot, combine the cold water, milk, heavy cream, butter and cornmeal, bring to a boil over medium heat, constantly stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps. Once the polenta has begun to boil, lower the heat and cook, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Don't panic because it seems like the liquid to cornmeal ratio is too much, the cornmeal really does soak up all the liquid. When the polenta has begun to thicken and the liquid is almost absorbed, add the cheese, salt, and pepper to taste, adding more as needed and continuing to stir until all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve at once, or let harden a bit and slice, then serve, or slice, and fry, or do whatever you please, the only limit is your imagination.
One of the many cooking magazines I subscribe to is The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana. It has become one of my favorite magazines, and the recipes I've made from it have always been consistent and good. The October 2003 issue has a recipe for a Cannellini Bean and Sardinian Fregola Soup that I have been eager to try.
Fregola is a Sardinian pasta somewhat similar to couscous. It's handmade with course semolina and water and then rubbed to form the little pellets of pasta. The pasta is then toasted to impart a nutty flavor and when cooked it is chewy but not gummy. It comes in small and medium sizes (and I think large but don't quote me). Years ago I tried to make a traditional Easter Grain pie thinking that Fregola was the grain that was used, having a recipe that only called for " boiled grain" I bought a bag of Fregola and it sat in my cabinet for a very long time before I tossed it, never having made the pie. I've eaten Fregola with Clams and it's delicious (here's a recipe), but so far I've never cooked with it. Part of the problem is I've never found a recipe that really grabbed me. I recently asked my friend’s mother what she used in her grain pie and she told me wheat berries, so I may have saved myself a lot of heartache by never making that grain pie with Fregola all those years ago. Ack! This entry is getting longer than I expected.
SO, this month I opened my latest issue of The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana and inside was a recipe for soup using Fregola that grabbed my attention...
From The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana,
In a large pot, warm the vegetable stock. Place the cannellini beans in a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth, adding a little water if necessary. Add the cannellini bean puree to the pot with the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Add the fregola, and cook until al dente about 10 minutes.
In a small skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil with rosemary leaves to infuse the flavor of the oil. Add this infused oil to the soup, reserving the rosemary leaves for garnish. Season the soup with salt and pepper, and served garnished with the rosemary leaves. Serves 4.
I have not yet made the soup, and probably won't get a chance until early next week, but I already see how I would modify it for my tastes. I would puree a couple of cloves of garlic in with the beans and then add a healthy squeeze of lemon juice into each bowl before serving, but that's just my tastes, I'm sure the soup is delicious the way it is, either way, I'll know next week.
My taste buds are all askew, either that or the idea of what I imagined this dish would taste like far exceed what the reality of it was. Oh sure, I could blame it on the asafoetida, a spice prior to this recipe that I had never heard of or used and one that has an odor so pungent it stinks to the high heavens, but the truth is simple, it just didn't turn out as I had hoped.
The recipe came from Indian Regional Classics by Julie Sahni and it was my first time making a recipe from this book. I was totally into the whole cooking thing especially after having spent most of my summer avoiding the kitchen. I was groovin' on the idea of using a new spice and I was ready, ready, ready to have some fun. oh the excitement...will it never cease?
So, the recipe called for 21/2 cups cooked rice that had been made from 1 cup of raw rice, preferably basmati, brown rice or converted rice. I used brown basmati rice and I prepared it using one of the three ways Julie Sahni says is the ONLY way to get perfect rice. Using the boiling method, I washed the rice in several changes of cold water then set it into a bowl and covered it with more cold water and let it soak for the minimum 30 minutes. Julie Sahni suggests going up to 2 hours with the soaking, but HEY, I was hungry. After the 30 minutes I brought 8 cups of water to a boil and added the now drained rice, stirring constantly so that the rice did not settle on the bottom. I cooked it for EXACTLY 4 minutes because Julie says it has to be EXACTLY 4 minutes. I removed from the heat, drained the rice, removed a single grain (oh how Zen I am) and tasted. Boy that was some crunchy rice. I didn't think that was the desired effect, so back into a pot with boiling water to cook until fluffy. While the rice was cooking I got all the other ingredients ready to go. I heated 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pan and when the oil was hot I threw in 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds then quickly covered the pot because mustard seeds, tend to snap crackle and pop just like popcorn when heated. Once the sputtering had subsided, I lifted the lid and added 1/4 teaspoon of asafoetida (not without first taking another whiff, I'm telling you its addicting), 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 11/2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of water and brought the whole thing to a boil. Since it took all of three seconds to get that small amount of liquid to a boil, I was at the ready with and threw in 1/4 cup roasted and chopped cashews, 1/2 teaspoon of green chili’s and the cooked rice. Julie also calls for 12 Kari leaves, fresh or dried as an optional ingredient, but it was something I did not have on hand, nor did I find them at the store, so I opted to leave them out. I tossed well, coating the rice with the spices and then transferred everything to a serving bowl. Julie suggests serving the rice with a cubed mango as garnish, and perhaps if I had used the mango it would have made all the difference because to my taste buds, the rice was kind of just eh. I think I was expecting a more lemony taste, something along the lines of a light fluffy rice with the tangy taste of lemon infused with Indian spices but that’s really not what I got. I squeezed the juice of another half a lemon onto the rice and that helped a bit, but I couldn’t help being still just a little disappointed.
I wouldn’t consider the recipe a total write off though, I did get to use the asafoetida and sure enough, once heated, the strong odor went away and the spice did impart the essence of garlic and onion into the dish, like magic. That, in and of itself was worth the price of admission.
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