The Ultimate Rice Cooker (80 page)
Beth’s friend Susie Korngold has been making some version or another of this salad for decades. It consistently shows up at family potlucks and is always a welcome addition. When asked for the recipe, Beth received a card with just the ingredients, no measurements. “You know, I never wrote that down, so I will try to give you an idea from memory,” said Susie. “Each time I make it, I change it a little bit.” New additions include toasted peanuts, mung bean sprouts, some grated daikon radish, or carrot. Luckily, Beth wrote down the version she had at Susie’s parents’ 40th wedding anniversary party and here it is. You can use Japanese-style medium-grain white rice or brown jasmine, if you like, instead of the short-grain brown.
YIELD: Serves 6
SALAD
4 cups room temperature cooked medium-grain brown rice
½ head Napa cabbage, cored and shredded
1 bunch green onions, white parts and some of the green parts, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 or 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps very thinly sliced
2 heaping tablespoons toasted
Japanese sesame seeds
DRESSING
¼ cup cold-pressed sesame or vegetable oil (sesame is best)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or rice vinegar
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and pressed through a garlic press
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons tamari (a thick, strong soy sauce)
1.
Make the salad:
Place the rice in a medium-size salad bowl. Add the cabbage, green onions, cilantro, and mushrooms and mix well to combine.
2.
Make the dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the rice and vegetables, add the sesame seeds, and stir with a large spoon to combine. Store the salad, covered, in the refrigerator and serve chilled or at room temperature. You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight, but it tastes best the day it is made.
wild rice salad with cranberries and berry vinaigrette
This is Beth’s most requested salad for catering. It has been made for 10 and for 100, with equal success. The fresh berries in the dressing make it thicker and help it coat the rice. You will be preparing two batches of rice, so plan accordingly; we just make extra basmati, jasmine, or converted rice (the white rice mellows the flavor of the wild rice) and keep it in the freezer, ready to be defrosted and tossed with the other salad ingredients. This can be made the day before to give time to meld the flavors.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/off
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 8
RICE
1½ cups wild rice
3 cups water
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
VINAIGRETTE
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
½ cup red or black raspberry vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 to 5 fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
SALAD
1½ cups room temperature cooked white or brown rice
1 bunch green onions, white parts and some of the green parts, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1½ cups dried cranberries
Two 12-ounce packages frozen petite peas, thawed
1.
Prepare the rice:
Place the wild rice in the rice cooker bowl. Add the water and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Unplug the machine, keep the cover open, and let the rice cool to room temperature right in the cooker bowl.
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
3. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until they just begin to color, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool to room temperature, and set aside.
4.
Make the vinaigrette:
In a food processor, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, and strawberries. Process until smooth and slightly thick; if too thin, add another berry or two. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrape into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
5.
Assemble the salad:
Place the wild rice in a medium-size salad bowl. Add the white or brown rice, green onions, celery, cranberries, peas, and walnuts, stirring to in corporate. With a large spatula, combine the salad ingredients with enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat, reserving any extra vinaigrette in the refrigerator. Store the salad, covered, in the refrigerator and serve at room temperature. This can be prepared up to a day ahead.
creamy rice salad with fresh fruits
Back in the early 1970s, a friend of Beth’s was involved with the Vedanta Society, one of the first meditation groups in the United States based on ancient orthodox Indian Hindu philosophy. At the time, the group was based in Berkeley, California. They had evening lectures at different people’s homes and after the swami spoke and told parable-like stories based on the principles of Eastern thought, they had tea and dessert. At one of these gatherings, this sweet rice salad was served, almost a simple uncooked rice pudding, a favorite of the swami’s. What a delight! It was fresh cooked white rice with whipped cream and mixed fresh fruit—that night a combination of fresh pineapple, mandarin oranges, bananas, and papayas—folded in to make it a delightful and ever-so-slightly heavenly dessert.
YIELD: Serves 6
3 cups room temperature cooked
basmati rice
2 cups cold heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups chopped or sliced ripe fruits, such as mangos, papayas, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, kiwifruit, Fuyu persimmons, Comice pears, or fresh or canned mandarin oranges (any seasonal combination)
1. Place the rice in a large serving bowl.
2. In a chilled large bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla together with an electric mixer set at high speed until soft peaks form and just hold their shape. Fold the whipped cream into the rice with a large rubber spatula until evenly combined. Add the fruit (you want about equal amounts of fruit and rice) and gently fold in. Cover the salad and refrigerate for a few hours. It is best served the day it is made.
PANCAKES
Pancakes are one of the oldest foods, since they can be baked on a griddle rather than in an oven. Often thought of as only breakfast food, they make a wonderful grain-rich side dish or substitute for a sandwich. Pancakes are a perfect vehicle for leftover rice; you just stir in some leftover rice for flavor and texture. Here are four of our favorite renditions, all simple beyond belief, and very tasty and filling.
Our dear friend, Washington, D.C. writer Joyce Gemperlein, created these nutritious and savory cakes for her young daughter Jocelyn’s breakfast or lunch box. They are tasty hot or cold, and they can even be finger food (that is how Jocelyn eats them).
YIELD: 12 to 14 three-inch pancakes;
serves 2 to 4
2 cups cold cooked white or brown rice
2 large eggs
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan or other cheese
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or splash of hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
1. In a medium-size bowl, using a fork, combine all the ingredients until evenly moistened with the egg.
2. Coat a large skillet or griddle with a bit of oil or nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Drop the batter into the skillet by tablespoonfuls, making pancakes about 3 inches in diameter and smoothing them out with the back of the spoon, if needed. Cook until golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning once. Serve the pancakes hot or cold.
The husky flavor and rustic texture of wild rice are delightful in these savory dinner pancakes. Beth makes these by the hundreds for special catering dinners and there is never a one left over. Serve with some chutney on the side or gravy drizzled over.
YIELD: 20 three-inch pancakes;
serves 4 to 6
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
2 small to medium-size shallots, minced
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1½ cups room temperature or cold cooked wild rice
1. Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium heat, add the shallots, and cook, stirring, until softened. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl or food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk or process or blend. Add the shallots, eggs, and milk; beat or process just until smooth. The batter will be thin, yet thicker than crepe batter. Stir in the wild rice.
3. Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat until a drop of water skates over the surface, then lightly grease with butter. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using 2 tablespoons batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on the surface, the edges are dry, and the bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn once, cooking the second side until golden, about 1 minute. The second side will take half the amount of time to cook as the first side. Serve the pancakes immediately or keep warm in a preheated 200ºF oven until ready to serve.
Risotto does not reheat well, so if you have any left over, the best way to eat the day-old Italian rice dish is to make a pancake. Known as
risotto al salto
in Milan, it is traditionally made into one large pancake, then cut into wedges to serve. This recipe makes two oversized six-inch pancakes.
You can make the one pancake if you wish in a larger skillet, but the cooking time will increase slightly. The best risotto pancake is cooked slowly to create a nice crust on both sides, so don’t rush. Risotto pancakes are good for breakfast or lunch right out of the skillet, or as a room temperature picnic food or snack.
YIELD: 2 pancakes; serves 2
1 or 2 large eggs, beaten
1¾ cups cold cooked risotto
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste or tomato sauce, or pinch of minced fresh herb leaves, such as basil, Italian parsley, or marjoram (optional)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter or olive oil, or a combination
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan or other cheese, for serving
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving
1. Depending on the consistency of the risotto, if you like a dry pancake, use 1 egg; if you want more of a frittata, use 2 eggs. Combine the egg and risotto in a medium size bowl and mix well. Add the tomato paste, sauce, or herbs if you want to add some complementary flavoring to the risotto.