Cuisines Collide in a Casserole

Rice is a dietary staple all over the world. It is tasty, versatile, filling and relatively cheap. The last attribute could be its most attractive selling point right now as people who never had to worry about their household budgets struggle to pay all the bills. Complement any variety of rice with a well-stocked pantry and you’ve got a recipe for economical eating.

In my continued quest to clear out my pantry before Passover, I decided to make use of the bag of organic short grain brown rice I haven’t touched in a while. Hmm, what to do with it which would be worthy of publishing on the web? I refer to my well-worn copy of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (a veritable encyclopedia of vegetarian ingredients and recipes) for some inspriation. Opening up to the section “About Rice” in the Grains chapter, I found a recipe for Baked Spanish Rice. The recipe calls for Arborio rice, a stubby short-grained white rice which is great for making risotto due to its inherent starchiness. I could use a similar cooking technique with my short-grained brown rice because it is has a similar sticky quality.

I didn't want to simply follow the recipe (even though I actually had all 20 ingredients it called for) because that's no fun. And I couldn't copy it simply substituting brown rice because whole grains require more liquid to cook properly. But I was glad that Ms. Madison reminded me of the sun-dried tomatoes I had sitting on the door shelf of my fridge. A quick scan of the vegetable drawer revealed a piece of gingerroot on its last legs and some wilted basil - better use these things up before it was too late. So the idea to create an Spanish-Indian fusion rice casserole was born!

This particular fusing of cuisines using rice as the centerpiece is actually quite logical. Both cultures have layered rice casseroles in their traditional cooking repetoire. The Spaniards make paella infused with saffron, tomatoes and garlic, adding poultry, chorizo sausage and shellfish in stages as the dish cooks. Indians make a vegetarian meal out of rice layered with vegetables and flavored with sweet & spicy spices - usually including saffron like the Spaniards - and tangy yogurt. Both dishes can be cooked in the oven which ensures even cooking and decreases the chances of peaking (no peaking!!!).

East-West Rice Casserole
Serves 4

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 Tablespoons gingerroot, minced
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
5 sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), thinly sliced
1 cup short-grain brown rice**

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 Tablespoons basil, chopped (or use parsley instead)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8 x 8 glass or ceramic baking dish. In a small saucepan, heat the vegetable broth.

2. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add spices, gingerroot, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add rice to saucepan with onions & spices. Stir to coat rice with seasonings and cook 2 minutes. Add hot broth and salt to rice mixture and bring to a boil. Add basil and allow to boil for a minute, stirring.

4. Transfer rice to prepared baking dish, cover tightly with foil and place in preheated oven. Bake for 55 minutes. Remove baking dish from oven and allow to sit, covered, for 15 minutes. Fluff rice and serve.

**If you have weak digestive capacity (ie. are predominently Vata in constitution or have compromised agni, digestive fire), then soak the rice overnight. Drain rice before making recipe and use only 2 1/2 cups of broth.