Oswald Rivera

Author, Warrior, and Teacher

Category: rice (page 2 of 4)

ROAST CHICKEN MOROCCAN STYLE

December 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

 

I’m , always on the lookout for a good roast chicken recipe, something out of the ordinary. Well, this is one for the ages: Roast Chicken Moroccan Style. I’ve never been to Morocco but, if I do, this is the first dish I’ll order. It’s a heavenly chicken replete with myriad herbs and spices not common to our version of roast chicken.  And, as an addition I’ve included a saffron rice recipe that goes great with the chicken. So, impress your family and friends with your worldliness. Give them a roast chicken dish that’s simply marvelous. They’ll sing your praises.

Now, traditionally, with this dish, it is cooked in an outdoor grill. This being winter in the northeast, we cooked the chicken in a preheated broiler and it came out just fine.

ROAST CHIKEN MOROCCAN STYLE

Ingredients:

1 roasting chicken, about 3 to 3¼ pounds, halved or quartered
3 scallions, white parts only, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander or 1 teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenned pepper
4 tablespoons butter, softened

Instructions:

  1. Rinse chicken under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
  2. Put the scallions, garlic, herbs, salt and spices in a mortar and pound until crushed. Blend with the butter to make a paste. Rub the paste all over the prepared chicken pieces. Leave the chicken to marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
  3. Arrange the chicken pieces skin side down under the broiler After 5 minutes turn and baste with any extra paste or the juices in the boiling pan. Continue turning and basting every 5 minutes for approximately 25 minutes or until the pieces are done. Serve with Saffron Rice (recipe given below).

SAFFRON (YELLOW) RICE

ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups rice
½ teaspoon saffron threads or ¼ teaspoon saffron powder
Chicken broth, about 3 cups or to cover rice
Salt and black peeper to taste
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup finely chopped parsley

Instructions:

  1. In a large saucepan or pot, heat olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and sauté until grains are transparent.
  2. Add saffron and chicken broth to cover rice by about ¼-inch. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid absorbed, about 30 to 40 minutes. Add salt and pepper and serve on a platter with tomato and parsley border.
    Yield: 4 servings.

GREEK STYLE BEANS AND RICE

October 20, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Rice and beans, whether it’s Arroz con Habicuelas in Puerto Rican cuisine or Arroz con Frijoles in Mexican cooking, is a common staple. Can’t go wrong with it: rice has the carbohydrates and beans have the protein. An inexpensive,  convenient and healthy meal. Thus I’m always on the lookout for something similar in other cultures. That’s when I came across Greek Style Beans combined with Greek rice, or pilafia. In this case, rice pilaf with onion (pilafi me kremmithakia).

Note that in the recipe given, I use dry white beans, which have to be soaked in water overnight. You can cut corners (and cheat) by using canned white beans but, my friends, it just won’t taste the same.   Go the extra mile and soak the suckers then cook. You won’t regret it.  Also, I topped everything with Greek Kalamata olives. This is optional, but it does enhance the dish.

GREEL STYLE BEANS

Ingredients:

2 cups small white beans
¼ cup olive oil
2 scallions, chopped
¼ teaspoon coriander powder or dried oregano
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Soak beans overnight and drain. Cover with fresh water by at least 2 inches. Bring to boil, lower heat and cook, covered, over moderate-low heat until beans are tender but not mushy (about 1 hour).
  2.  Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Cook for 10 minutes longer. Serve with Rice Pilaf with Onion (see recipe below).
    Yield: 4 servings.

RICE PILAF WITH ONION

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1¼ cup long-grain rice
2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups hot water  and 2 teaspoons chicken broth granules
½ cup chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup kalamata olives, halved (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Wash rice at least 3 times in cold water and drain to rid it of starch. What in Pennsylvania Dutch country is know as “washing in several waters.”
  2.  Heat oil in a medium-sized pot or saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the rice and cook until golden in color, stirring occasionally.
  3.  Meanwhile, heat the chicken broth to boiling. Add the chicken broth to the rice, plus the onion and garlic. Cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed (about 30 minutes). Fluff the rice with a fork, served with the beans and topped with the kalamata olives.

PERSIAN RICE WITH PIGEON PEAS

January 5, 2022 / / 0 Comments

PERSIAN RICE WITH PIGEON PEAS

I got this recipe years ago from a former co-worker when I was a wage slave. For full  disclosure: I included the recipe in my first cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America (Running Press) since I needed additional rice recipes at the time. I titled the recipe Arroz de Persa (Persian Rice), and it is the same recipe we are doing today. In that dish I noted that, following my Nuyorican influence, I like to add peas to the rice, and sometimes olives and pimentos. This time around I experimented with it and added canned pigeon peas. Arroz con Gandules, rice and pigeon peas, is one of the staples in Puerto Rican cooking. So I thought I’d do the same with Persian Rice. I guess you could call this a fusion dish. Whatever, it’s delicious. Note that, if you can’t find pigeon peas, you can substitute a package of frozen green peas,

This entrée would make a great side dish to any meal, be it beef, chicken or pork. In this instance, we serve it with salmon.

PERSIAN RICE WITH PIGEON PEAS

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup vermicelli or thin spaghetti, broken up into 1-2 inch pieces
Water or chicken broth
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup rice
1 15-ounce can pigeon peas, drained

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil in a skillet or saucepan. Add vermicelli and stir-fry until golden brown.
  2. Add water or broth to cover by ¼ inch, and salt. Add rice and mix well.
  3. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
  4. Add pigeon peas and stir to combine. Cover again and simmer another 10 minutes.
    Yield: 4 servings.

ARROZ CON POLLO (Rice with Chicken)

December 28, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Some would argue that Arros con Pollo is the most well known dish in the Puerto Rican/Nuyorican pantheon . To us, it’s more popular than paella. To some, it’s just paella without the seafood and chorizos. Its saving grace is that, though it may take some time to prepare, you can fancy it up by adding sweet peas, pimento strips. assorted olive or whatever else you desire. Some rice with chicken recipes call for saffron, ground cumin or paprika to give the rice its color. We use tomato sauce and achiote.

As noted, our rendition calls for achiote and aji dulce, or sweet chili peppers. Note that the latter are not the common hot peppers associated with Mexican cuisine. Sweet peppers are just that, mild and sweet. They can be found in any Latino or Asian market. If you live in a major metropolitan area you can usually find it in your local supermarket.

Achiote is what we use for giving color to such dishes as yellow rice, pilaf rice, or any dish you want to enliven with a nice yellow-reddish hue. A simple method to prepare achiote is to cook 1 tablespoon annatto seeds, what we call the achiote (also found in Latino/Asian markets), in ½ cup olive oil or vegetable oil. You cook the seeds, stirring frequently, on low heat for 5 minutes. Be aware that if the flame is kept on high the seeds may crack and splatter. During cooking, the oil will turn a bright orange-red, The longer the seeds steep in oil, the darker the hue. Remove from heat, let cool and, using a small strainer, pour into a jar or container. Cover and refrigerate. That’s it.  If you want more achiote, use more seeds.

Back in Spanish Harlem, arroz con pollo was normally served for a special occasion. But, in our family, we ate it frequently. It was one of the foodstuffs that kept the family vibrant and together.

ARROZ CON POLLO
(Rice with Chicken)

Ingredients:

3 cups rice
1 3-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
12 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 ounces salted pork (also called fatback), rinsed and diced
(Note: you can substitute 3-4 strips of bacon, cooked and diced)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
3 aji dulce (sweet chili peppers), seeded and chopped
½ cup tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth or bouillon
2 cups water
2 tablespoons achiote (see above)
1 8½-ounce can green peas (drained) or 1 10-ounce package frozen green peas

Instructions:

  1. Wash rice at least three times (until water is clear).
  2.  Rinse chicken pieces under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
  3.  Place peppercorns, garlic, oregano and salt in a mortar and pound until crushed. Blend in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and vinegar.
  4.  Rub chicken pieces thoroughly with the seasoning. In our clan, if we’re in a rush, we let chicken stand for 15 minutes just before cooking. Otherwise, we marinate it for several hours or overnight in the fridge.
  5. Heat remaining olive oil in a heavy kettle or Dutch oven and brown salted pork over moderate heat. Add onion, bell pepper and aji dulce. Sauté until onion is translucent.
  6.  Add tomato sauce, chicken broth and olives. Stir to combine.
  7.  Add chicken pieces plus 2 cups water. Mix, lower heat to moderate-low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes.
  8.  Add the rice and achiote. Add more water to cover contents in pot, if necessary. Mix well and simmer, covered, on low heat until rice is tender (about 30) .
  9. Stir in peas. Cover and cook 10 minutes more.
    Yield: 8 servings.

 

GREEK MEATBALLS WITH RICE

November 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

One of my favorite ways of preparing  meatballs is how our Greek brethren do it. I have long been a fan of Greek cuisine. They have 3,000 years of history in terms of cooking. We can learn a thing or two from them. So, you can consider this posting as a Greek meal. Simply, it’s meatballs  (keftaides) over rice with fideo (pilafi me fides). The latter dish  is just rice combined with cut thin spaghetti (fideo). Back in Spanish Harlem almost every household would add fideo to their soups. We never thought of combining it with rice (another innovation by our Greek brothers and sisters).

With this Greek dinner I took the liberty of adding saltsa bechamel to the meatballs. Saltsa bechamel is the Greek method of preparing béchamel sauce, that fame sauce attributed to French cuisine (although some historians state its origin is actually Tuscany—but that’s another story). Add some good Greek wine like a Agiorgitiko from Nemea or Xinomavro from Naoussa, and you’ll have a dinner that will transform you to a sunset evening in Athens. Don’t let the Greek wine tongue twisters deter you. An Agiorgitiko is similar to a Merlot. With a Xinomavro, think of a Barolo or Pinot Noir.

For this dinner, I would suggest making the béchamel sauce first. You can set it aside and heat it up again with the main course; then preparing the rice with fideo. While the rice is cooking, you can make the meatballs, which are served drizzled with the sauce.

SALTSA BECHAMEL

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Dash of nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Instructions:

Melt butter over low heat. Add  flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir until blended into a consistent paste. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk and return to heat. Cook, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and gradually add egg yolks, stirring constantly. Yield: 2 cups

RICE WITH FIDEO

Ingredients:

1½ cups long grain rice
¾ cup fideo (or crushed vermicelli)
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried chives

Instructions:

Combine the rice and fideo and sauté in butter in a 2-quart pan or pot until golden brown. Add chicken broth and chives. Cover and cook over very low heat until the liquid is absorbed, about 30-40 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve. Yield: 4 or more servings.

GREEK MEATBALLS:

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef or a mixture of beef and pork or lamb
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint or 1 teaspoon dried
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup ouzo or anisette
1 cup flour
½ cup olive oil (or more if needed).

Instructions:

  1. Combine meat, bread crumbs, salt, onion, parsley, garlic, mint, egg and ouzo. Mix well.
  2. Form into meatballs and roll them in the floor. Note that we like our meatballs medium-sized, not small. Place on a cookie sheet and chill for 1 hour.
  3.  Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan  and fry meatballs over medium-high heat until done, about 15-20 minutes. Serve them hot.
    Yield: Makes about 32 meatballs (4 to 6 servings).

 

 

 

 

 

ARROZ CON CHORIZO (Rice and Sausage)

October 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

One of our favorite dishes is Arroz con Chorizo, or Rice and Sausage. The sausage usually entails chorizo, the Spanish pork sausage most common to Puerto Rican cuisine. But for this dish you can use any preferred sausage be it beef, pork, chicken or turkey. The recipe also calls for sofrito, a common base flavoring in Nuyorican cooking. You can find a recipe for sofrito in our post of 10/16/20. If you don’t have the time or ingredients for sofrito, you can use achiote, as we did in this version. Achiote is easy to make. Just heat ½ cup olive oil in a small skillet or pan. Add 1 tablespoon annatto seeds (found in most supermarkets or Hispanic markets). Cook, stirring frequently on low flame until the oil turns a bright orange-red color. Use as needed, cover and refrigerate. The achiote will give not only flavoring,  but also that bright color that defines the rice.

The most common accompaniment to this recipe is beans. It can be red kidney beans, black beans, white beans, ext. This time around we used pinto beans. This is the type of hearty meal that comforts the soul.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 chorizos or 4 preferred sausage (about 12-ounce pack), sliced into ¼-inch rounds
1 tablespoon achiote
Water or chicken broth to cover
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Wash rice until liquid runs clear. This is what they call  in Pennsylvania Dutch country as “washing in several waters” to remove starch from the rice.
  2.  Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet or pot (we prefer cast-iron).  Add onion and stir-fry  until onion is wilted and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
  3.  Add rice. Stir in achiote, and add water to cover contents in pot ¼ to ½ inch. Add salt and pepper.
  4.  Bring to a boil. Cover tightly and simmer on low heat until water is absorbed and rice is tender (about 20-25 minutes). Serve with beans.
    Yield: 6 servings.

 

 

MEMORIES OF CONGEE

March 9, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Back in my wild and misspent youth, one of the most memorable characters I use to hang out with was a beautiful person named Eddie. He was Chinese, and  was the center of a group whom we termed, The Gang of Four. It was Eddie, myself, Larry (another Chinese guy), and Henry, who is Irish.

After work we would all meet at Lucy Jung’s restaurant on Canal Street. Larry was the manager at Lucy Jung’s, and we would keep him company, drinking and carrying on until the restaurant closed. Then we would go bar hopping in Chinatown. This was the era  when Chinatown had numerous watering holes such as the Golden Valley, The Hon Gong, and Winnies. They’re all closed now. The new generation sits behind laptops and tablets, staring at screens in the local Starbuck’s. The camaraderie that we all knew, is now gone.

Anyway, after a night of drinking, at around 3 or 4 a.m. we would end up in a little hole in the wall restaurant on Doyer’s Street, where we would all have a heaping bowl of congee. This would, hopefully, sober us up so that we could all shuffle to work that same morning—and then start up the same ritual the following evening. As the song says, we were young and surely had our way.

Eddie is no longer with us, but the other guys still are; although we all much older now, and somewhat wiser, all happily married,  and with families. But the memories still linger. Especially of congee, and it’s sobering affects.  Congee, also known as jook, is a hearty stew, more like a rice porridge. It’s popular throughout China, Laos, and Thailand. It can be served as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner dish. It’s simple and delicious. All you need is hot broth (or plain water will do), rice and some meat thrown in. The congee we had in Chinatown was made with pork meatballs. But you can prepare it with chicken, beef, or even fish.

The following is Eddie’s recipe for congee (or jook, as he preferred to call it).

CONGEE

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon Bell’s All Natural Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of ground white pepper
1/4 cup finely sliced scallions
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 quart chicken broth, or water
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1/2 cup jasmine rice
1 tablespoon fish sauce (can be found in any Asian market)
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
Fried garlic oil (recipe follows below)

Instructions:

  1. Place ground pork in a mixing bowl. Mix in Bell’s seasoning, oregano, white pepper, scallions, and salt, if using. Set aside.
  2.  In a wok or soup pot, combine the broth (or water) and ginger. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.  Add jasmine rice, cover and lower heat to  a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Add the pork in tablespoon-sized meatballs.
  3.  Let the mixture simmer for another 15 minutes. Add the fish sauce, transfer to a large serving bowl. Garnish with cilantro and fried garlic oil, and serve. If you prefer,  can also  serve the congee in small individual bowls, and each person can add garnish as desired. Your choice.
    Yield: 4 servings.

Fried Garlic OiI: In a small fry pan, cook 2 cloves garlic (finely minced), in 2 tablespoons olive oil. When garlic is slightly
browned, remove from heat and add to congee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pegao–Crusty Rice

June 28, 2017 / / 3 Comments

We Puerto Ricans have a love affair with rice. It is the main standby dish in our culture. There’s a reason why rice became so ubiquitous in our cooking. Rice was introduced to Puerto Rico by the Spaniards. It became the main meal during the Spanish occupation simply because it was relatively cheap to buy. That, plus ease of cooking, endeared it to our cuisine.  From the lowly side dish to the main course as featured in a seafood and meat laden paella, the love affair has evolved and deepened.

Nuyoricans as well as islanders cannot do without this grain, be it plain boiled rice, saffron rice, yellow rice, whatever. To some of us, a meal without rice would be incomplete. Almost like that old tune about love and marriage. What’s interesting about all this is that, in our family, the best part of the meal is what we call the pegoa, or that crust at the bottom of the rice pot. This is something that is traditional to our cooking, as least with the older generation. In fact, in some cases, the pegao (peh-gah-oh) is reserved for an honored guest. The rice is be cooked long and slow, so that when it’s served, that crispy crust at the bottom of the pan remains for a fortunate one to savor.

Then I discovered that our culture is not the only one that has this penchant for the rice crust. Persian cuisine also has a version of it, which they call tah dig (pronounced “tah-deeg”). This pegao thing is universal. There is something about that crunchy, even slightly burnt residue at the bottom of the pot that is irresistible to some. And almost every Latino household has a pan in which they make rice. It’s usually cast aluminum or stainless steel. To me, the best pagao is from a cast-iron pan. Again, this is a matter of opinion. One more thing, it won’t work with a non-stick pan.

 

Directions

  1. Wash 2 cups rice in cold water at least three times and drain to rid it of starch. What is in Pennsylvania Dutch country is known as “washing in several waters.”
  2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy kettle or pot. Add rice and stir until grains are opaque, about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add water to cover rice by ¼ to ½ inch. Some folks us the first knuckle of their index finger as measure for the water. Either way method is okay. Add salt to taste.
  4. Bring water to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. By that time the liquid should all be absorbed, and the pegao formed. The longer it cooks, the more crusty the pegao. Serve the rice as you would with any meal, and then fight over who gets the pegoa.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

 

Note: You can add saffron threads (1/4 teaspoon) or turmeric (1 teaspoon) to the water for yellow rice. Or, for a deeper color, tomato sauce (1/4 cup). This will make the pagao even tastier.

 

Sofrito | Spanish Rice

October 16, 2016 / / Comments Off on Sofrito | Spanish Rice

Sofrito is ubiquitous in Caribbean cooking. One could safely say that Puerto Rican cuisine would be wanting without it. It is an aromatic mix of herbs and spices that is a base for cooking countless criollo dishes. This concept can be found in other cultures as well. One example is the Indian mix called garam masala which is also used as a base flavoring. Or kimchi, the fermented cabbage condiment, so popular in Korean cooking. The word sofrito is a generic term that has no correct English translation. “Frito” in Spanish means fried. Sofrito could be taken to mean stir-fried. Although this would not be entirely accurate. As the recipe shows, sofrito can be whipped up in a few moments’ time in a blender or food processor. And it can be stored in a closed tight jar the refrigerator for three to four days or, in the freezer compartment, indefinitely.
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Pilaf Rice with Golden Raisins

March 28, 2016 / / 0 Comments

We Nuyoricans can’t do without rice. It goes back to our island culture where rice was the main side dish (along with beans) to almost any entrée. And it wasn’t just plain white rice. It was yellow rice; rice with squid (arroz con calamares—or what in my family we call black rice since the ink from the squid gives the rice a dark hue); rice with pigeon peas (arroz con gandules); the famed arroz con pollo (rice with chicken); a sumptuous paella; or even rice pudding (arroz con dulce).

Once I left the block and discovered other rice dishes out there from various cultures, I started experimenting. I discovered Indian rice, and Syrian rice (made with Syrian noodles), Italian rissoto, and Persian rice (Chilau or steamed). But my vantage point has always been pilaf rice, which is also popular in our cuisine. One can do wonders with pilaf rice, mixing it with almost any ingredient (except for Jello). I’ve done pilaf with peas, turmeric, cumin, you name it. Yet, among my favorites has always been pilaf rice with raisins; and this can be black raisin or golden raisins. The raisins give it that sweet tang that makes it adorable.

The recipe that follows shows what I mean. It can serve as an accompaniment to any vegetable, meat, fish, or fowl dish. Or even on its own, it’s a marvel. Go at it.

RICE PILAF WITH GOLDEN RAISINS

1 cup rice
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, sliced into thin rings
1 1-oz (28.3g) box golden raisins (can use black raisins, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/4 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1. Wash rice at least three times in cold water and drain to rid it of starch. What in Pennsylvania Dutch country is known as “washing in several waters.”
2. Melt one tablespoon butter in a medium heavy saucepan (I prefer cast iron). Add onion and cook, stirring until wilted and translucent.
3. Add rice, raisins, cumin, water, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir, cover pan and simmer until water is absorbed (about 20 minutes). Let sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.
4. Discard bay leaf. Add coriander and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir with a fork, to distribute butter in rice. Serve, or keep covered in a warm place until ready to eat.
    Yield: 4 servings. 

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