Tonight I had what I suppose in modern parlance could be called a "labelling malfunction". What Paul Levy calls UFOs - unidentified frozen objects.
Over Christmas I had needed some duck breasts, and they were so hard to come by that I bought a whole duck and jointed it, freezing the carcass and the legs separately. Since it's now marmalade orange season, we were going to have Duck à l'orange tonight.
It turned out to be chicken à l'orange. With the freezer being exceptionally full over Christmas, the labelled duck legs were in the bottom drawer which normally doesn't have any meat in it, and when I found un-labelled chicken portions in the meat drawer, that was what got defrosted.
In any case, the Feathered Rice that I had thought would be very nice with the duck was equally nice with the chicken - and as I made the full quantity I took a quick picture of the half that's now safely tucked away in the fridge for next week. Hence the rather dirty looking dish - sorry!!
This recipe is from Ronald Johnson's An American Table - I know I've shared recipes from it before. He describes it as earthy and nutty. Nutty is about right to me - the aroma is almost like a puffed-rice cereal, only without all the added sugary sweetness.
Feathered Rice:
1 cup (8 fluid oz) rice
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups (1 imperial pint) boiling water.
Heat the oven to 400F, 200 C and toast the rice grains on a baking tray till lightly browned - about ten minutes. Stir occasionally.
Reduce heat to 350F, 170C. Transfer the rice into an ovenproof dish with a close-fitting lid. Stir in the salt and boiling water. Cover tightly, and cook for about 40 minutes, till dry and fluffy.
He says you can stir in a little butter at the end if you wish, but neither he nor I think it's necessary.
I know I haven't posted many cards recently - I don't think I even did a December pick, and it's really too late now for any Christmassy ones. But in view of the bitter cold here the last few days, this is still seasonal. I love using alcohol inks to make a plaid background à la Tim Holtz.
Today has not been a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination - the duck being chicken was only the last in a litany of things which went wrong today. But there's always tomorrow...
That card is beautiful. I feel I'm looking through a frosted window that's lined with plaid curtains. I haven't made basmati rice since my steamer broke and now mentioning the nutty flavor of your rice you have me craving it. Sounds like a wonderful meal even with the variation off the intended.
ReplyDelete