The Ultimate Rice Cooker (25 page)
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or rendered duck fat
2 tablespoons minced shallots
¼ cup minced celery, with some leaves
1 cup long-grain white rice
1¼ cups chicken stock
½ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of dried thyme
Grated zest of 1 orange
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the oil and butter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the shallots and celery. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until all the grains are evenly coated and hot, about 10 minutes. Add the stock, orange juice, salt, thyme, and zest; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot.
Vintner’s rice,
boros rizs
, is a variation on a Hungarian recipe for pilaf from food entrepreneur George Lang. Rice pilaf was another food, like coffee and
langós
flatbread, left over from the Turkish military occupation. It has the addition of some dry white wine, such as a Chardonnay or Chablis, along with the broth.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small white onion, coarsely grated
Dash of ground white pepper
1 cup long-grain white rice
3 thin lemon slices
½ bay leaf
1¼ cups chicken stock
½ cup dry white wine
⅓ teaspoon salt
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the butter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the onion and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the pepper. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until all the grains are evenly coated and hot, about 10 minutes. Place the lemon slices and bay leaf on top of the rice. Add the stock, wine, and salt; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Remove the bay leaf. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot.
It is a long-forgotten food fact that the culinary artist Escoffier, the king of chefs and the chef of kings, invented the canned tomato in 1895 while he worked at his London Savoy restaurant kitchen. Tomato pilaf made with canned tomatoes, called
riz et tomate
in France, is good with roast beef and veal. It is similar to a favorite dish made in the Greek Peloponnesus,
spanakorizo
, where it can have fresh spinach or sautéed leeks added in and cooked lightly with the rice. If you like pilaf with a bit more zing, add a few shots of your favorite south-of-the-border hot sauce or Tabasco sauce with the cooking broth. Serve topped with cold sour cream and minced fresh chives, or crumbled feta or goat cheese.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 6
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups or one 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with their juices
1¼ cups chicken stock or water
¾ teaspoon salt
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the butter in the rice Add the tomatoes, stock, and salt; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.
Rice has a natural affinity for peas. Food writer Bert Greene once remarked that fresh peas in the pod will eventually be as rare and as expensive as truffles. With due respect, this wonderful recipe should be made exclusively when fresh peas hit the market; frozen peas just will not taste the same. This recipe is made with two different rices, to give the pilaf a firmer texture than if it was made with all medium-grain rice, which is stickier.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 tablespoons minced celery
1½ cups chicken stock
1 cup fresh peas
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup long-grain white rice
½ cup Italian Arborio or California medium-grain rice
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the butter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the shallots and celery. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, peas, salt, and rices; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot.
The distinctly orange root of the carrot has been a common ingredient in both Eastern and Western kitchens for centuries. It has been a cultivated vegetable for 2,000 years. This Indian-style rice is slightly sweet and ends up looking like it is studded with vibrant jewels, with the bits of carrot strewn throughout. Serve with simple roasted meats.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 4
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee (
clarified butter
;)
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 cup white basmati rice
2 to 3 carrots, cut into thin strips or very coarsely grated
1½ cups chicken stock
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Grated zest of 1 small orange
½ teaspoon honey
⅛ teaspoon salt
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the butter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and carrots and cook, stirring a few times, until all the grains are evenly coated and hot and the carrots have softened slightly, about 10 minutes. Add the stock, cardamom, red pepper flakes, orange zest, honey, and salt; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot.
Once the French decided they liked rice, they adopted the method of sautéing the rice first with shallots—one of the stalwart members of the onion family but less assertive than onions and garlic—then braising the rice in a rich broth. The result is sophisticated and heartwarming food at its best, characteristic of french cuisine in general. This is an all-purpose pilaf and this recipe can easily be cut in half for two people, with some leftovers to reheat the next day.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 6 to 7
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cup chopped shallots
2 cups long-grain white rice
3¼ cups chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the butter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until all the grains are evenly coated and hot, about 10 minutes. Add the stock and salt; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot.
Parsley,
persil
, is a Mediterranean herb that is cultivated literally all over the world and is a favored seasoning in many cuisines. Appealing to the palate, it is also appealing to the sense of smell, mildly refreshing without being overassertive. We prefer the Italian flat-leaf parsley, as it lacks the fibrous nature of curly-leaf parsley. Rice with parsley is good with all sorts of roasted meats and poultry. If you have an orange tree in the backyard, go ahead and grate a bit of the zest into the rice at the end when adding the butter and parsley.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Quick Cook and/or regular
YIELD: Serves 3 to 4
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or onion
1 cup long-grain white rice
1¾ cups water
Pinch of salt
Splash of Tabasco sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, to your taste
1. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in the rice bowl. When melted, add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until all the grains are evenly coated and hot, about 10 minutes. Add the water, salt, and Tabasco; stir just to combine. Close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, stir in the parsley and the remaining ½ tablespoon butter using a plastic or wooden rice paddle or wooden spoon. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with the rice paddle or spoon. This pilaf will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. Serve hot.