Monthly Archives: March 2019

Green Persian Pilaf

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Persian Pilaf is a delicious  Middle Eastern combination of vermicelli and rice, sometimes with add-ons like garlic or fried onions. The textural contrasts between the rice and the browned nutty vermicelli make this dish sing. I combined the pilaf with raw greens and herbs and raw garlic inspired by a Sarah Copeland recipe for the NYT that I have written about before. The trick is to brown the vermicelli (but not burn it) and make sure the rice and vermicelli is hot before adding the garlic. The steam gently cooks the garlic and the greens for a delicious fresh flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice and 1 cup wheat vermicelli

5 oz spinach shredded in the food processor (pulse it, stop before it becomes a paste)

1 cup parsley and cilantro (I used half and half) also shredded in the food processor (pulsed 5-6 times)

3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped and 1-2 jalapenos finely chopped

2-3 tbsp brown butter or ghee

Methods:

Add 1 tbsp of butter to your rice cooker insert on the stove or on the saute setting if you have it. Brown the vermicelli (less than 2-3 min, this burns very fast). Add rice and 3 cups of water. Press cook on your rice cooker or cook rice on stovetop.

Once rice is done, mix the greens, the ghee and as much garlic and jalapenos as you wish. Salt generously (1 tbsp or so)

Serve with a fried egg or a soft boiled egg.

 

Tunisian Chickpea Stew

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This is my version of Tunisian chickpea stew but what do I know- I’ve never been to Tunisia nor do I have any Tunisian friends. But the flavors are from the region and it’s quick and delicious.

1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight and pressure cooked for 15 minutes)

1 14 oz can tomatoes (whole tomatoes puréed)

Aromatics- half an onion and half a red pepper chopped into inch cubes, 1/2 preserved lemon, 8 or so olives, parsley, 2 garlic cloves

Spices: 1 tbsp Harissa paste (I have the Trader Joe’s version) , 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp cumin powder

Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, add 1 tsp of cumin seeds, let them sputter, add onions and peppers. Cook on high heat for 4-5 minutes till they brown slightly. Add 1 tbsp of harissa paste and the cumin powder, cook for a minute. Add chickpeas and salt.

While the onions are cooking, blitz the tomatoes, olives, preserved lemons and garlic in a blender. Add to chickpeas in pan.

Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add parsley- serve with any grain or couscous or pasta.

Bean Broth

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Bean Broth: My recipe for the best bean broth. Use it for minestrone, a fantastic gravy base and everywhere you would use stock. It’s great plain with just rice or any other grain as the base for a brothy grain bowl. This has the mouthfeel of a meat stock, it’s the garlic and the bean liquid that make it thick. For the gravy- just add a roux.

1 cup soaked red kidney beans

2.5 cups water with 1 tsp better than bouillon vegetable base (or 2.5 cups vegetable stock) and 1 tsp salt (less if your stock has salt)

1 tbsp olive oil

4-5 cloves of garlic crushed

Heat oil, add garlic, after 1 minute, add beans and stock. Pressure cook on high for 15 min (I use my cuisinart). If you don’t have a pressure cooker, it will take 45 minutes on the stove top.