The best rice dish you've ever had

#Eat Plentiful 45

Hi team,

Glad to have you back. It’s been business as usual this week, which I’ve welcomed with open arms.

I’ve been eating some great rice dishes lately, which have surprised me. Although rice is the most widely consumed staple food in the food and apparently more than half the world eats it on a daily basis, personally, it’s never been at the top of my list. Call me picky but I’ve never eaten an entire bowl of risotto and thought GIVE ME MORE, or soggy Paella…

Not many people get it right when cooking rice, it’s often clumpy, or gummy or just completely tasteless. If you’re still cooking rice like pasta like we’re still in the 90s, it’s never too late to learn how to do it the proper way. You will never go back.

Here but there a few simple tips when cooking rice:

1. Rinse it well until the water runs clear, it matters. It gets rid of the starch which makes it gummy and sludgy. If it looks your rice is cooking in what looks like dirty bathwater, you’ve done it wrong.

2. If you’re cooking rice properly, there shouldn’t be any water to drain off once it’s cooked. Follow one simple ratio 1 part rice to 2 parts water. It differs slightly if you’re cooking brown rice (add water) but works 90% with most other rices.

3. Cook the rice on a slow heat with a lid on and never lift it off. Just like a good piece of meat, once cooked let it sit for at least 10 mins with the lid on making sure no steam escapes. And in case you get that browned crust at the bottom, which everyone’s experienced once in their life, rest reassured it remains the best part in lots of cultures. It’s a bitch to clean but better that than wet tasteless rice.

4. Buy a rice cooker, the best tool for foolproof rice cooking.

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Here, a beautiful red prawn rice from a restaurant close to ours called Teimar, slowly bringing my faith back into rice with this incredibly tasty and crispy rice cooked in a single layer. Super super good!

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Middle Eastern rice

You might have guessed this week’s recipe will be a rice dish…100% vegetarian and incredibly delicious. And I must say, it’s the best thing I’ve had in a while. It came out of nowhere and was an absolute surprise. It’s my twist on a middle-eastern rice and full of good stuff, you can thank me later. Once you’ve mastered cooking rice, you can play around with the cooking and add some flavours during the cooking process like I have here.

For 4 people

Cooking time : 20 mins

Ingredients

• 200g Basmati rice

• 100g lentils (preferably red lentils for quicker cooking)

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 4 big handles of spinach leaves

• 30ml olive oil

• 2 tbsps of sumac

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 400ml of vegetable broth

• 100gr creme fraîche

• a bunch of spring onions

• one vegetable stock cube

Instructions:

1. Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, rinse the lentils under cold water and drain.

3. In a deep pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, 1 tablespoon of sumac and sauté until they become translucent and slightly caramelized, about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add the drained rice to the pot with the onions. Stir well to coat the rice grains with the oil and onions. Cook for another 2-3 minutes to lightly toast the rice.

5. Pour in vegetable broth, and season with salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for about 5-10mins.

6. Add the lentils to the pan and, cover, and cook for another 5-10mins until the rice and lentils are tender and the liquid is absorbed.

7. Once the rice and lentils are cooked, remove the pot from the heat, add the spinach and gently fold into the rice mixture, and let is sit for 5mins with the lid on, until the spinach is wilted.

8. Serve in a bowl, add a generous dollop of creme fraiche and finish off with a sprinkle of the remaining sumac and some chopped spring onions to garnish.

9. Serve the Middle Eastern Rice with Lentils, Spinach, Onions, and Sumac hot as a main dish or as a side alongside your favorite Middle Eastern dishes. Enjoy!

Enjoy the weekend x