sweet peas and green rice
You know what happens when you have an imaginary food processor and a dysfunctional blender and set out to make a recipe that calls for processing four cups of herbs into a near-paste? Well, you dutifully pluck all those little leaves, then shove them into the aforementioned blender, add some scallions, and an hour later you have a bowlful of hand-chopped herbs and scallions. At least, that’s what happened to me. You get a nice arm workout in the process (part one of the honey eater’s guide to fitness: chop ridiculous amounts of things by hand). That’s why I have guns like these. That there’s my custard-stirring, herb-chopping, cream-whipping arm, eat your heart out Michelle Obama.
Amir’s been away and I’ve been rattling about the apartment, doing as I please. (I’m not sure it’s large enough to rattle in, perhaps I’ve been jangling in it, like loose change in a pocket?) What I please is: a) making salads with raw apples, b) leaving closet doors open, c) eating peas.
I eat peas when he’s abandoned me for another continent. I’m not sure why, he doesn’t have anything against peas, he’s not even allergic to them. It could be that he’s often away in June, when peas make their first appearance in our farmers’ market or maybe (much more likely) I just don’t feel like splitting my peas. You’ve gotta peel a lot of pods to get a proper portion of peas.
See what I mean? Too few to share.
I saw the first shelling peas about two weeks ago and thought of making a minted rice for them to bed down with, or a lemon-mint risotto (which I would still like to try). Then, while looking through Mollie Katzen’s book, I saw a recipe for a rice that used a cup of mint. . . and a cup each of parsley, cilantro, and watercress, which is where all that chopping comes in.
Despite the sweat and hard labor, this rice was very good. It tasted even better the next day, eaten in the park on one of the rare sunny days we’ve had this month. It’s especially delicious re-fried with an egg and some Parmesan cheese, which gives it a lovely custard-y texture (kind of like a mock risotto).
Very Green Rice
adapted from The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without by Mollie Katzen
It is indeed very green. It has a bit of spiciness and punch from the cilantro and parsley and a nice cool aftertaste from the mint. If you’re a cilantro hater you could use a variety of leafy greens, such as arugula, spinach, basil, whatever suits your fancy. Anything you would use to make a pesto-like sauce would probably work well with the rice.
Ms. Katzen says this is a great way to use up leftover rice but I can’t imagine ever having 4-5 cups of leftover rice. I suppose you could cut down the amount of herbs to the amount of rice you have, it’s about a 1:1 ratio of herbs:rice. I cooked 1-1/2 cups of rice fresh, which made about 4 cups.
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths (whites and greens)
1 cup (loosely packed) each: watercress, flat-leaf parsley, mint leaves, and cilantro leaves
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic
4 to 5 cups cooked long-grained brown rice
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
3/4 cups lightly toasted pine nuts (optional)
fresh peas, lightly blanched (optional)
Wedges of lemon
Toss the scallions and herbs into a food processor or blender and process until they’re almost a paste.
Place a large skillet, or saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute for about a minute, then add your herbs and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice, stirring and breaking up large chunks, to evenly coat with the herb mixture. Stir in the salt and serve topped with pine nuts, and fresh lemon wedges. Toss in peas, if using.
To re-fry rice: place a saucepan over medium-low heat, add a little oil or butter, toss in rice and squeeze in a little lemon juice and/or water (to make sure it doesn’t dry out). Crack an egg into the pan and stir, scraping the bottom. Once the egg is fully cooked, remove pan from heat and stir in a generous handful of Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3 Responses to “sweet peas and green rice”
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Lemon risotto with italian parsley and shallots is pretty killer, too. Pretty green color. I've made it for Easter brunch before.
Your mom gave me this book too. I need to dig into it, evidently.
that sounds good, and it looks so pretty. i have two of mollie katzen's books, but not this one. thanks for the recipe!
thanks! Her recipes are pretty great. My mom has made her vegetable cheesecake a couple of times and it's pretty amazing.