My Take on Red Beans and Rice

Beans and Rice

The Southern Classic "Red Beans and Rice" is my inspiration for tonight's meal. Its a common combo cooked throughout the US and Latin America Countries. Low cost, easy and delicious. My recipe was using fresh ground chili cooked in the rice, slow simmered pinto beans and a chunky corn and avocado salsa. Perfect on a Monday night with lots of leftovers for a few days.

Summer Chunky Salsa

Ingredients:
1 ear White Corn, grilled/cut from cob
1 handful Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 Avocado, diced
a big pinch of Cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon White Onion, Fine diced
1 Poblano pepper, Roasted, Cleaned, Diced
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt/Pepper

Method:
1. Mix well, season to taste.

Y= 4-6 servings

Rice, Not Just a Side Dish

Aromatic Vegetables

To give good flavor start with diced vegetables like onions, celery, carrot, peppers and fennel bulb.

Saute Vegetables with Rice

Saute the vegetable mixture with rice in olive oil or butter till glossy.

Adding Seasoned Stock

Add seasoned meat or vegetable stock, normally 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice. Cover and simmer till cooked, fluff with a fork and serve.

Intensely Flavorful Fluffy Rice

Farro and Mushroom Saute

Farro, Kale and Mushroom

One of my favorite grains is farro, a grain from a species of wheat with Italian origins.  My guess is it will be one of the trendy foods of 2014, as it's been popular on restaurant menus all around town.
It has a nutty and chewy texture with a mild taste.  It is easy to cook by simmering in salted water and draining when done.  I sauteed Dino Kale with oyster mushrooms in olive oil then tossed in the farro. Quick, easy and delicious.

The Very Last of Summer Peas

Pea pods on the vine.

Just picked Peas

Fresh Pea Risotto with Spinach and Bacon

While eating the last of a friends late summer peas this year I decided to put a few in the ground to see what would happen, I was surprised that they soon sprouted and grew into mature bushes. Next came very fragrant flowers where the pea pods grew from. The strange result of all this is that I was harvesting peas during the first week of November! OK Fresh pea risotto it will be and I enjoyed this rare treat.

Paella for a Crowd

Seafood Paella Simmering

What to make for a large group of people? How about a Paella. It's a one-pan meal with lots of different flavors and textures and the list of possible ingredients is endless. All that is required is rice with Calasparra or Bomba varities being considered the best; a good substitute is the standard risotto rice Arborio. The most common paella is Valencian from Valencia Spain, and it normally contains seafood and chicken with lots of aromatic saffron. I followed that same classic list of ingredients in mine tonight. I love all the colors and flavors and I think everybody else did too.

Indian Inspired Risotto

Indian Risotto

What to make for dinner?  Tonight using some common ingredients that I had on hand gave me the idea of making this risotto with some of my favorite Indian flavors. I used lots of vegetables, chick peas, curry paste and a very spicy pickled chili. To start, I made a standard risotto adding the curry paste to the rice during the first stages of the cooking process, then the vegetables with vegetable stock.
I added a small handful of fresh spinach and peas at the end so they remained bright green and not over-cooked.  A small spoonful of chili pickle at the end gave it another flavor boost.
Good stuff, but be careful with that pickle- it's hot!

Rich and Creamy Risotto with Sea Bass

Mediterranean Style Risotto

For me making a risotto is the perfect food, where any combination of ingredients can be added to create a delicious meal. Normally I have enough staples on hand and will just need to buy the primary ingredient, such as the sea bass for this risotto. Tonight I went with the classic fish flavors of garlic, shallots, fennel, tomato, white wine and saffron. Meaty chunks of California sea bass were added in the final stage of cooking so that they would just cook through. It turned out great with the rice absorbing all the amazing flavors while releasing its starch to thicken and give the rice a creamy consistency, which is what makes a risotto special.

Arancini, Risotto Rice Balls

The best use for a leftover! These crispy, cheesy bite-sized balls are made from cooked risotto rice and are stuffed with cheese and fried 'till golden brown. Next time you make a risotto, cook a little extra for these; they can be made ahead and kept frozen 'till you need them. The large texture of panko bread crumbs will give a more crispy crust then regular bread crumbs.











Arancini

Ingredients:

Risotto rice (Arborio), cooked and cooled

Fontina cheese, cubed

Panko bread crumbs

Oil for frying


Method:
1. Using a small ice cream scoop (1 oz) scoop out as many balls of rice as you want.

2. Push a small cube of cheese into the rice ball and form back into a smooth ball.

3. Roll the rice ball into panko bread crumbs, no need to dip in egg, its already somewhat sticky.

4. Deep fry at 350F till golden brown, drain and season with kosher salt, serve warm.

Note: Any kind of melting cheese will work and any kind of bread crumbs also.

Dungeness Crab Risotto

I was lucky enough to attend my eldest daughters school crab feed this last weekend. I gorged on mounds and mounds of Dungeness crab that night and you would think that I had enough? but this is the prize crab of San Francisco and I wanted more. On my way out the door I went to say my good byes to the kitchen staff who were nice enough to give me a box of claws to take home. With this crab I first had the idea to make Cioppino, the famous seafood soup of San Francisco but I chose on doing a rich and creamy risotto. Only a few basic ingredients cooked and I was eating this amazing crab again.

Dungeness Crab Risotto

Ingredients:

5 ounces fresh dungeness crab meat

3 ounces arborio rice

1 small shallot, fine dice

1 pinch chopped parsley

1 cup dry white wine and some for you while you cook

3 cups fish stock, vegetable stock or water, simmering

Dash extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt/Pepper to taste

1 pat butter

Method:

1. Saute the shallot and rice in the olive oil till translucent.

2. Add the white wine, slowly stir till liquid is absorbed by the rice.

3. Slowly add little by little the rest of the liquid till rice is tender, check seasoning.

4. Add the crab meat, parsley and the butter off the heat, stir in and serve immediately.

Yield=2

I served it with a little salad of citrus segments, fennel seed, herbs and crab meat

Weeknight Risotto

For me the perfect weeknight dinner is a risotto with whatever you happen to have on hand, and it can be very elegant or just country rustic. I always have the basic Arborio rice, onion and olive oil so its just a matter of adding a few other ingredients. For tonight's risotto I used a small piece of fish with some cherry tomatoes and a few peas picked fresh from the garden. I was going for a Spanish theme and added a dash of smoked Paprika gave it the true flavor of Spain. Good stuff.

Sugar Snap Pea Risotto

Five perfect ingredients transformed into a Delicious dinner, the inspiration came from baskets of flawless organic snap peas bought from the local farmers market. The addition of Arborio rice, torpedo red onions, Parmesan cheese and water all properly added and cooked together at the appropriate time. Fast, simple and perfect quality.

First of the season Tomato Risotto

I am starting to see nice tomatoes showing up at the farmers market now, you know its just a tease for whats to follow in a few months. I bought some tomatoes anyway because I am ready for summer to start. I first had the idea of doing a salad of tomato, mozzarella and basil, but I thought the flavors would not be perfect for that yet. A way of concentrating the flavors would be to sun dry or in my case, oven dry. So that's what I did, all afternoon in a 200F oven with a little olive oil and garlic for flavoring. Next I made a simple risotto using a tomato stock and finishing with the chunks of oven dried tomato and fresh basil. It was a lot of work in front of the stove but it turned out great and I will try it in a few months when tomatoes are at there peak.

Mushroom Risotto

Oyster Mushroom Risotto

Spring has finally arrived here and the weather is dry and getting warmer, I wanted to make a winter style risotto again one last time before I would get into the summer warm weather food I love. I found these really cool giant oyster mushrooms and thought they would be perfect. Again just keeping it really simple with only a few ingredients, arborio rice, garlic, mushrooms, vegetable stock, Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs. It turned out really good and the meaty mushrooms were perfect in it. The next time I make risotto it will be with all the amazing summer produce from the local farmers market.

One Paella with Everything Please

I needed to do food for a group of 8-10 people, so a big pan of paella came to mind. I chose to use a variety of ingredients including chicken, sausage, little neck clams, mussels and Maine lobster. The trick is to prep all ingredients ahead of time so they can be added to the rice in order not over cook, all the shellfish needs to be precooked and their liquid added to the rice cooking liquid. For 8 people I used two cups of rice in a 18 inch wide and shallow paella pan. First the short grain rice is toasted in good olive oil with shaved fennel, smoked paprika, sliced onions, chopped garlic, red and green peppers. Next the chicken and sausage go in and are browned. The next step is adding the cooking liquid which is made of chicken stock, white wine, saffron and the clam and mussel cooking juice. After the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, all the precooked shellfish are added to reheat and garnished with a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley. The flavors are complex, rich and Delicious. Serve with a simple salad and crusty rustic bread, for wine which is a must, try a light red or white.

Couscous salad

I wanted to make a simple grain salad using all the middle eastern flavors I love, I started with imported Israeli couscous which is a form of pasta about the size and shape of a peppercorn, I really like the nutty flavor and chewy texture of it. I toast it in a pan with olive oil till it browns then add water or stock to cook it. When its done I simply combine with sliced olives, toasted almonds, lemon juice and zest, extra virgin olive oil, yellow onions, ground cumin, turmeric, saffron, parsley and kosher salt to taste. It is really good by itself or I like it with grilled fish.

Risotto of Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sage

Next to making pasta with what ever you can find in your house, a basic risotto is easy. It can be flavored with anything you have on hand. In the Summer it can be fresh corn, peas or maybe asparagus. The long winter season is perfect for comfort ingredients like root vegetables. This risotto was just whole oven roasted sweet potatoes with the cooked pulp removed and added during the last cooking stage of the rice. Finished with fresh chopped sage and shaved Parmesan cheese. Great by itself or as a side to maybe roast pork.

Artichoke risotto

This was my first home grown artichoke, I bought a plant which is somewhat rare to find and it grew well enough to produce a few nice artichokes. The next thing was what to make with them. Steamed whole and served cold with a garlic aioli dipping sauce? maybe stuffed with chopped garlic, herbs, bread crumbs and olive oil then baked till tender? I think I will make a risotto with aromatic diced vegetables, prosciutto ham and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:

1 cleaned diced artichoke

1 celery rib, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 small onion, diced

1/2 cup arborio rice

2 slices prosciutto ham

1 dash grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups water or stock

Method:

1. Saute all vegetables in olive oil, add the arborio rice.

2. Slowly add seasoned water or chicken stock a little at a time, waiting till liquid is absored before adding the next bit of stock.

3. When rice is tender and creamy add the ham and cheese, check seasoning, serve immediately.

Bulgar Wheat Tabbouleh

A favorite grain of mine that I eat a lot is Bulgar. It is a wheat kernel that have been steamed, dried and then crushed. Its a popular staple in middle eastern cooking. Its very easy to prepare since it has already been cooked, just add one part Bulgar to one part boiling salted water, turn off heat and cover, after about ten minutes its done. It can be as a side or in salads. For the classic Greek tabbouleh salad just add fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and lot of chopped parsley to the cooked grains. I like to add toasted almonds also for there texture and nutty flavor.

Spring sweet pea risotto

I found these beautiful and fresh English peas at the local farmers market. I had to buy a big bag because most of the year only frozen peas are available, you have to jump on them when you see them. This simple classic risotto is a great way of using them and they will still retain there bright color and fresh flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled fresh peas

dash olive oil

1 cup arborio rice

1 clove garlic, sliced

4 cups fresh made seasoned chicken stock, simmering

kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

half cup fresh shaved Parmesan cheese

method:

1. Saute the rice and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes.

2. Slowly laddle stock into rice while stirring, wait for rice to absorb the stock before adding another laddle.

3. When last laddle goes into the rice add the peas, when the rice is creamy and tender it is ready to plate, check seasoning.

4. serve in pre-warmed plates with grated cheese sprinkled on top.

shellfish risotto

I had family in town from Maui, Hawaii recently and it was a opportunity to do my verison of some of my favorite local flavors. First I started with Acme crusty sourdough bread and with cowgirl creamery Red hawk cheese, then a classic Caesar salad with home made croutons and dressing, for the main course it was prawn, mussel, clam and dungeness crab "cioppino style" risotto. They loved it and vowed to make back home in Maui, I hope to be there when that happens.