Chick Pea, Dried Fruit and Vegetable Pilaf

We have been eating more vegetarian dishes recently — somehow just in the mood and don’t have as big a yen for meat.

Besides, vegetarian dishes are traditional for Purim, which begins at sundown on Monday, March 6, 2023, so the casserole recipe below is something for you to consider this year.

We had this dish a few times (variations) and loved the combination of tangy and sweet (dried fruit), the savory chick peas and the seasoned but just gently spicy flavors in the rice.

It’s also a good way to use up rice and chick peas if you don’t eat them during Passover.

And — it’s a good bet for Break-the-fast if (as we do) you have a dairy or vegetarian feast instead of the traditional smoked fish.

Chick Pea, Dried Fruit and vegetable Pilaf

• 1 15 ounce can chick peas, drained

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• salt, paprika

• 3-4 medium scallions (or use a yellow onion), chopped

• 1 large clove garlic, chopped

• 2 medium carrots sliced 1/2-inch thick

• 1/2 cup halved dates, preferably medjool

• 1/3 cup cut up dried apricots

• 1/3 cup golden raisins

• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• pinch or two of Aleppo pepper (or use crushed red pepper or cayenne)

• 1 cup white rice

• 2 cups vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chick peas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, pour one tablespoon of the olive oil over them and toss to coat them. Sprinkle with salt and paprika. Roast for about 20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, or until the chick peas are lightly crispy. When they are done, remove the chick peas from the oven, set them aside and turn the oven heat to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heat-proof, oven-proof pan over medium heat. Add the scallions, garlic and carrots and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the dates, apricots and raisins. Sprinkle with salt, cumin, coriander and Aleppo pepper, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the rice and chick peas. Stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and place in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Kedgeree with Salmon

My cousin has all sorts of fabulous and interesting eating and serving utensils. She is the only American woman I know who has a set of kedgeree forks.

She and her husband, world-travelers that they are, pick up things here and there and once, while in Scotland, they happened into an antique store and saw the unusual piece in the second photo. 

Now, these two people are not dolts! They know a sardine fork from a herring fork. But they had no idea what this thing was.

The proprietor told them it was a kedgeree fork.

They didn't know what that was either, but learned that it is a Scottish/British dish, basically rice with fish (usually smoked haddock) and seasoned with curry. An old import from India (dating back to "the Raj") and now a standard item throughout the U.K.

Apparently, the original Indian dish (called khichri) was a hodgepodge of cumin-scented rice and lentils (sounds very much like Middle Eastern mujadarah), sometimes with vegetables mixed in. The British added fish and hard cooked eggs and that's the way it's served today. Mrs. Patmore made it for the Crawleys in Downton Abbey and served it to them on a silver, dome-covered tray for breakfast.

Recently I decided to make kedgeree. It was all because I had a lot of salmon leftover from dinner. OK, I know salmon isn't exactly smoked haddock or even close in taste, but so what! I made Salmon Kedgeree. It made a terrific leftovers dinner and I ate the rest for breakfast the next two days (alas, no sterling silver serving utensils, no kedgeree forks and no person to serve it to me).

I've never tasted kedgeree so I have no idea if what I made was the way it's supposed to taste. All I can say is: it was absolutely delicious and I wish I had more and will make this again. 

Salmon Kedgeree

• 1 cup white rice
• 1-3/4 cups water
• 2-3 large eggs
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (or 4 whole cardamom pods)
• 1 medium tomato, chopped (or 1 cup cut up cherry tomatoes)
• 2 cups cooked leftover salmon (or smoked haddock)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place the rice in a saucepan, cover with the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for one minute, stir with a fork, turn the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 18 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Set the pan aside off heat. Cook the eggs and bay leaf in simmering water for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Peel, cut into quarters and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the curry powder, salt and cardamom, cover the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the pieces are golden. Add the tomato and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove the bay leaf from the rice and add the rice to the pan. Stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Add the salmon and lemon juice and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are hot. Spoon into a serving bowl. Place the quartered eggs on top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Fried Rice with Turkey and Mushrooms

On Father’s Day my husband does not:

1) grill

2) want hot dogs or hamburgers

3) play golf (baseball, soccer, etc.)

He wants:

1) me to cook

2) Chinese food

3) to relax, sit outside, and spend a good deal of time googling all sorts of stuff on his iphone and then regale us with the miraculous things he has learned.

I haven’t figured out the menu but maybe it will be Chicken with Hoisin Sauce and Cashew Nuts or Chicken with Peanuts (his favorite). Or maybe Grilled Chicken/Ginger kebabs. He’d absolutely LOVE some Pearly Meatballs. 

Fried Rice is a definite. Any kind, even if it is “Chinese style” and not authentically Chinese like this recipe, which is more or less what I sometimes cook when I have just a little bit of meat leftover. Ed will always welcome this dish or any variation. He always mixes in a little bit of sesame seed oil. I don’t.

This recipe will serve 4-6 as a combo dish to be eaten with other food. When it’s just the two of us for dinner, we eat it all.

One cup if raw rice cooked with 1-3/4 cups water will yield 3 cups cooked rice.

Fried Rice with Turkey and Mushrooms

3 dried shiitake mushrooms

2 eggs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 scallions, chopped

1 cup diced leftover turkey 

1/2 cup thawed frozen peas

6-8 water chestnuts, diced (or 1/2 cup diced bamboo shoots)

3 cups cooked cold rice

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

sesame seed oil, optional, to taste

Soak the mushrooms in hot water for about 30 minutes or until they are softened. Rinse them, discard the inedible stem, if any, and cut the caps into small pieces. Set the mushrooms aside. Beat the eggs in a bowl and set aside. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a wok or stirfry pan over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and cook, stirring once or twice until they are set on the bottom. Turn the eggs over and cook briefly until firm. Dish out the eggs onto a chopping board, chop them and set them aside. Heat the remaining vegetable oil in the pan. Add the scallions, turkey and mushrooms and stirfry for about 2 minutes. Add the peas and water chestnuts and cook for another minute, stirring frequently. Add the rice, eggs and salt and stirfry for 1-2 minutes to distribute ingredients and heat the rice. Sprinkle with sesame seed oil if desired.

Makes 2-6 servings, depending on whether this is a one-dish meal or part of a meal

African Coconut Rice

African Coconut Rice

We used to be a rice family. It was one of those foods we all agreed we liked. Ed, my daughters, Meredith and Gillian, and me. 

Unfortunately I made it so often that we reached a saturation point. 

I had jumped the shark of rice cooking.

We were riced out.

For years.

A few weeks ago, Meredith got a rice cooker. She and her husband and family had a sudden yen for rice.

Which got me to thinking that Ed and I hadn’t had it in a long, long time.

So I went out and bought a package of jasmine rice and made this recipe for African Coconut Rice. It’s a little hot. A little sweet. 

Ed said “wow, this is so nice. We haven’t had rice in so long. I miss it!”

I’m guessing there’s a lot of rice in our near future. White, brown, red. All sorts.

I just won’t overdo it this time. I hope.

African Coconut Rice

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3-4 scallions, chopped

• 1-2 serrano or habanero peppers, deseeded and chopped

• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes

• 1 cup white rice

• 1-3/4 cups coconut milk

• salt to taste

  Heat the vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the scallions and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes to soften them. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the rice, stir, and pour in the coconut milk. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Boil for one minute. Turn the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook for 18-20 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the liquid in the pan has been absorbed.

  Makes 4-6 servings

  Tagged: coconut milk, rice, side dish, African Coconut Rice