RECIPE - The City Cook's gorgeous Red Rice Pilaf

I have been cooking my way through, “THE CITY COOK: Big City, Small Kitchen. Limitless Ingredients, No Time: 90 recipes so delicious you’ll want to toss your takeout menus” (Simon & Schuster; November 2010; $20.00), by Kate McDonough, creator of TheCityCook.com.  I have been a avid reader of her work since 2007. What I love about Kate is that she cooks in a small urban kitchen like me and always has fantastic tips ( like all you really need is three different knives ( chef, serrated and pairing) to get by in the kitchen and not large fancy knife sets)  that really help. The book is a wonderful collection of such tips and recipes.

 

The book has a wonderful listing of local markets in many areas and provides explanations of terms you and I may have heard many times but were too embarrassed to ask what they really mean – say the difference between organic, local, artisanal & sustainable?

 

The book offers delightful recipes like Paella Casserole, and Pea soup with pork three ways.).  I had friends over for dinner last week and made her red rice pilaf and it was a huge hit.

 

This is a great book for the new cook and also for the avid cook – something for everyone to learn from.

 
Photos of rice by Sala Kannan (www.veggiebelly.com) for Life of Spice

Red Rice Pilaf

From the City Cook by Kate Mcdonough

 

Pilaf with Bhutanese red rice is a nutty and beautiful alternative to traditional white rice pilaf. You can usually find Bhutanese red rice in city markets, gourmet shops, and specialty markets. The most common brand is Lotus Foods, a company that sells other imported and heirloom rices, including the exotic black Forbidden Rice.

This nutty pilaf is a perfect companion to any dish with which you might normally serve pilaf or a flavored rice, including fish, duck, and chicken. It’s also great as part of a vegetarian menu that features vegetable gratin, curried vegetables, or ratatouille.

 

1 cup Bhutanese red rice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1⁄4 cup finely minced yellow onion or shallots

11⁄2 cups chicken stock (homemade or boxed, not from a bouillon cube), at room temperature or warmed

2 small or 1 large sprig fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Rinse the rice with cold water. Drain completely, shaking off any excess water.

In a large (about 3‐quart) saucepan or a sauté pan with a cover, melt the butter over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the onion and cook until soft and trans‐ parent, 1 to 2 minutes, keeping the heat low so that it won’t brown.

Add the rice and stir to coat with the melted butter. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, over medium heat. Your goal is to cook the rice for 1 to 2 minutes, not to toast it, but to have the hot butter adhere to the surface of the grains. It’s at this point when the rice begins to sound dry and scratchy as you stir it.

Add the warm stock, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf. If you’ve not used a salted stock, add 1⁄2 teaspoon salt.

 

Cover and gently simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. It’s done when all the stock is absorbed and the grains of rice are tender but still chewy. If you want the grains to be softer, add 1⁄3 cup more stock and cook for a few minutes longer.

Fluff the rice with a fork and remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Taste for sea‐ soning, adding salt and pepper as needed.

 

Tip: This pilaf can be made ahead of time and reheated just before serving. Depending on how long in advance it was cooked, you may want to add a table‐ spoon of butter as it’s reheated to bring a gloss back to the grains of rice.

 

 

GIVEAWAY – Giving away one copy of this lovely book. Enter a comment here about your favorite tip for cooking in a small, urban kitchen and do pass the word on about this giveaway.  Winner will be picked at random and announced here on Friday, Dec 17^th at 4:00 pm.

Where to buy the rice - I got a medium size bag from Whole Foods for about $3.00. Of course, Amazon also sells it - click here. 

 

 

Comments

[Ria Mathew]

I have never seen or used this rice before, but the colour is inviting enough to try! My humble tip for cooking in a small, urban kitchen like mine: To be honest, I am OCD-ic :) When it comes to using the dishwasher on a daily basis, I have a frown all over my face (Ok, I'm not old, I'm just 25!).So, what I have learnt from my mom is, never to take out all the vessels that you have, to cook! Because you end up washing them all day long! Instead, take out maybe a 3 or 4 vessels to the max, cook, wash and re-use. That way you don't end up crowding your kitchen counters or sinks. Also, for prepping, try to buy a nice big chopping board so that all your chopping can be done on that plus you can push each of them to the corners and continue with the chopping/mincing part so that you don't end up using a lot of bowls to hold your chopped and minced ingredients.It works for me ALL the time :)

[Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy]

This rice is new to me.Where can I get it..I have few health food stores nearby..there? Its often great to plan a menu for 2-3 days in advance, if not a week and then go grocery shopping.That way u spend smart, u come back & dont wonder about the ways to stuff the fridge with ALL that you looked at and bought & best part the you eat healthy too.I like to stick a board on my fridge door and keep on noting down there what needs to be cooked up fast n what can still wait in the fridge.My pad on the fridge door comes really handy!

[Tamar Erlich]

The best tip for cooking in small spaces is to clean as you go and keep putting away things when you finish using them. Thank you for the giveaway, Tamar

[Jeanette]

I'd love to try this rice and this recipe. When I'm in a small space, I find I just need a few tools/kitchen supplies (a good sharp knife, a cutting board, a saute pan and large saucepan).

[Elizabeth]

I love cooking in a small kitchen! I think the key is organization...having ingredients nearby, ready to use...and then cleaning up as you go. Thanks for offering this book to one lucky person, I especially love its full title!

[Diane]

I have a great rice cookbook called Seductions of Rice and this is another great book to add to that one. I think a rice cooker is the solution to all kitchens and especially a small one. It does rice, but it does almost everything else too. I often use my rice cooker twice a day. Get the best (lots of bells and whistles!) and largest one you can afford. Learn the techniques and just get rid of most of your other kitchen appliances.

[Sigrid]

My tips for a small kitchen - which many of us who live in apartments have. Apparently those who build apartments think those who live in them can't or don't cook! * There are exceptions of course, but try to avoid single function kitchen equipment or kitchen tools -- or if you find that you have, be creative and think of additional uses for what you've purchased. * It's not original - credit Rachel Ray - but it saves time and steps even in a small kitchen to use a "garbage bowl" - any large bowl you have that you can throw peelings, non-useable parts of produce or other foods an packaging into as you prep. * Don't buy larger quantities of staples than you can use in a reasonable period of time. It's tempting to buy large quantities of staples or other food items when they're on sale, but if you haven't the space to store them easily, the frustration of cramming them in already full shelves and cabinets can trump the money you save on their purchase. * Do not buy sets of things like pots & pans or knives. Sure they can be cheaper in sets, but most of us use only a few knives on a daily basis and a few favorite pots and pans and those items rarely or never used take up valuable and often extremely limited cabinet space. * Librarians are all familiar with the term "weed the collection" which means removing rarely read or outdated books from the shelves. Most of us have a tendency to keep adding to what we already have until every inch of space is crammed to the extreme. Periodically go through your spices and discard those you've had for five years and only used once. Check expiration dates on pantry items and discard those that have expired. Take a careful look at items, though not past their expiration date, you know, despite your best intentions, you know won't use - maybe give them to a food pantry. Before the items in your refrigerator's probably small and overloaded freezer compartment threaten to fall on your toes every time the door is opened, periodically take everything out and discard those leftover whatevers - you know, the freezer containers you failed to mark and have been there for 10 months or more. They're likely to have freezer burn and won't taste good even if you thaw them for supper tonight. Such items have a tendency to "collect" in the freezer taking up valuable space. If you don't use an item in a few weeks, it's unlikely you ever will. * After "weeding the pantry", think twice about what you add. Sure a tempting new recipe may call for an ingredient you don't have like a pomegranate vinegar. Sounds appealing, but will the dish really suffer if you substitute another vinegar you already have? Probably not, but if you think it will, make sure you have additional uses in mind before you buy that new item that will take valuable shelf space. If you can't think of additional uses, choose another recipe! Hmmm, I think I need to follow some of my own advice now -- I'm off to my freezer and pantry!

[Tanuja]

My one tip for cooking in a small kitchen is to have a garbage bowl or plastic bag at hand when prepping. It keeps the area you have to work with clean and organized. I also concur with previous comments. Clean as you go!

[Indrani]

I love to cook and have an organized and well stocked kitchen. My idea of entertaining is if anyone stops by without invitation, with all my supplies in hand I could quickly cook sumptuous a meal. My tips are: 1) I store all my large pots and pans inside my oven. When I need to use my oven, I keep these aside. 2) I have a list of items (groceries, spices etc) in sticky notes on my refrigerator door that needs to be replenished. So when I am in a rush to leave and get my groceries, I just grab the sticky notes and run :) 3) The lentils are in one section in tall and slim transparent Tupperware containers. Also I have separate sections for rice, and spices ans sauces. 4) Also on my counter top I have a decorative pot which fits a small garbage bag. This helps me to quickly clean. This comes in really handy, when I am chopping vegetables and meat and also cleaning up as I go.

[Chilli Loves Malli]

1. Organize-plan-organize. 2. Write up a weekly menu and shopping list.At most store a week's groceries to avoid clutter. 3. Prep/slice to begin cooking. 4. Clean as you go. 5. Use a few compact pots/pans-nothing elaborate and large. 6. Have spices on handy racks. 7. Create as many sliding drawers to hold ur knives, ladles and even garbagecan. 8. Keep linen/paper towels handy for quick spills.

[Monica Bhide]

The winner is Jeanette! email me for a copy of the book.