rice

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Paella – The Fibre Fuelled Cookbook – Dr Will Bulsiewicz

The Fibre Fuelled Cookbook

Dr Will Bulsiewicz

Vermillion

Penguin Random House

ISBN: 9781785044175

RRP $45

If you have been following along with my blog you will have realised how important I think gut health is for everyone. This book is another great resource on gut health, I hope you find it helpful.

“Saffron is a bulbous perennial plant in the iris family that blooms in the autumn. Harvest takes place over two weeks and the flowers are handpicked before dawn, before they open for the day. It requires more than six thousand flowers and over twelve hours of labour to create just 30 grams of saffron, hence the nickname “red gold.” In this recipe, the musky, piney saffron is complemented by the earthy, smoky paprika and garlicky sweetness. It’s a taste of heaven.” p261

9 Plant Points

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable stock

1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped

1 jarred roasted red pepper, chopped

1 red sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium courgette, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 pinch saffron threads

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

220 g short-grain rice (Arborio, Japanese sushi rice, Bomba rice)

600 ml Biome Stock Unleashed (page 239) or vegetable stock

10 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 lemon, sliced

1. In a paella pan or a large, shallow frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, roasted red pepper, and sweet pepper to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, until brown and reduced.

2. Add the courgette, garlic, tomato, saffron, paprika, and cayenne and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

3. Add the rice and stock and stir once to combine, then shake the pan to evenly distribute the rice and vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 22 to 25 minutes. Check for most of the liquid to be absorbed and the rice at the top to be nearly tender. If for some reason your rice is still not cooked, add 60 ml more water or stock and continue cooking (can also finish cooking in the oven; see Pro Tip).

4. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil, then place a tea towel over the lid to rest for 5 minutes (this allows the rice to finish steaming). Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon slices.

PRO TIP:

Once the rice is mixed in, resist the urge to stir it again in order to allow a crispy crust to form at the bottom, called a socarrat. Depending on the size of your pan or burners on the hob, you may need to finish this in the oven. Cover with foil, then finish in a 175°C oven, until the rice is cooked through.

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Japanese Curry Rice: Around the Table, delicious food for everyday – Julia Busuttil Nishimura

Around the Table

Julia Busuttil Nishimura

Plum

Pan Macmillan

ISBN: 9781760984915

Description:

Slow Sundays are for herbed roast chicken and silky smooth panna cotta. Eating outside means cheddar scones and fresh, spring salads. Friends coming by for afternoon coffee calls for a simple blackberry yoghurt loaf or comforting ginger cake with cream cheese frosting.

Beloved home cook Julia Busuttil Nishimura always knows the right dish for the occasion, weather or time of day. She also understands the power food has to bring people together, whether that’s to prepare a meal or enjoy the delicious results.

With recipes ranging from quick, flavourful meals for busy weeknights to simple indulgences for summer feasts, Around the Table perfectly matches dishes to time and place. It includes recipes laden with personal meaning – Mediterranean classics from Italy and Malta, and Japanese dishes Julia has learned from her husband, Nori – that will soon become favourites around your table, too. 

Japanese Curry Rice

Since curry was introduced to Japan, it has been transformed into its own unique dish and is now incredibly popular. Instead of starting with a curry paste, the meat and vegetables are simmered in water,
creating a rich broth as they cook, which is then thickened and flavoured with a roux-based curry brick. Curry bricks are essential to making Japanese curry and there are many variations available at supermarkets in Japan, as well as Japanese grocers here in Australia.

This recipe shows you how to make your own bricks. It really is rather simple and just requires an assortment of spices. After lots of experimenting with ratios, my recipe is just how we like it at home,
but feel free to vary the amounts to suit your own tastes. The quantity makes enough for four curries. I store the remainder in the fridge, where they keep for a month; alternatively, the bricks can be frozen.
When we are in Japan, we visit one of our favourite places for curry, Bird Co‚ee, in Osaka, at least once. They serve their curry in vintage brown bowls with plenty of rice and a boiled egg. It is really comforting and so simple to make from scratch. A typical accompaniment to Japanese curry are pickles, in particular
fukujinzuke and rakkyo. The former is a type of vegetable pickle, generally a mixture of daikon, eggplant, cucumber and lotus root, usually available from a Japanese grocer. Here, I’ve given a recipe for a pickled shallot, which is the next best thing to rakkyo (small young Japanese shallots, originally from China), which are almost impossible to find where I am. I love making them, and while they need a bit of time to pickle, they are really simple to put together. While the pickled shallot isn’t identical, it still provides a nice sweet, vinegary and salty contrast to the curry. The vegetables added to the curry are traditionally cut with a rolling technique: simply make a cut on the diagonal, turn the vegetable 45 degrees, then make another cut. Keep on rolling the vegetable as you cut – this ensures that the pieces are of even size . p220-221

SERVES 4

700 g skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 3 cm pieces
sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 potatoes, peeled and roll cut (see recipe introduction) into 2 cm pieces
2 carrots, peeled and roll cut (see recipe introduction) into 2 cm pieces
1 apple, coarsely grated
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce (ketchup)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

To make the curry powder, toast the whole spices in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or a mortar and grind or pound to a powder. Transfer to a small bowl, add the remaining curry powder ingredients and stir to combine.


To make the roux, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When foaming, add the flour and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes. Transfer the curry base to a sheet of baking paper and,
using the baking paper to help you, form the curry base into a square brick. Divide the brick into quarters, then place in an airtight container or wrap in baking paper or plastic wrap, and keep in the fridge until
ready to use.


To make the curry, season the chicken with salt and warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Brown the chicken for 2–3 minutes each side, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add
the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes, until it begins to soften, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.

Add the potato and carrot and return the chicken to the pan. Stir so that everything is well coated, then add 600 ml of hot water. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat
to medium–low and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through. Add a curry brick and mix well – the brick will melt into the curry. Add the apple, soy sauce, tomato sauce
and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 4–5 minutes, until the curry has thickened. Check for seasoning, then serve with steamed rice, jammy eggs and pickles.


NOTE: To make the pickled shallots, peel and trim 750 g small shallots, being careful not to trim too much of the root, as ideally the shallots should remain whole. You want 500 g shallots once they are peeled.
Rinse the shallots to remove any residual skin or grit, then dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel. Place the shallots in an airtight jar with 50 g salt (10 per cent of the shallot weight). Cover with cooled boiled water, then screw on the lid, shake well and allow to sit at room temperature for 3 days, shaking the jar a few times a day. Alternatively, especially if you live in a very hot climate, they can be stored in the fridge with an increased soaking time of 1 week.

Drain the shallots and squeeze out any excess water. Clean the jar and allow it to air-dry, then return the shallots to the jar. Heat 250 ml (1 cup) rice vinegar and 80 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar in a small
saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat. Pour the amazu (sweetened pickling vinegar) over the shallots and allow to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, store in the fridge. They are ready to eat once they have cooled and will keep for many months submerged in the amazu.

CURRY POWDER
25 g (¼ cup) coriander seeds
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
3 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper


ROUX
140 g unsalted butter
100 g (⅔ cup) plain flour


TO SERVE
steamed Japanese short-grain rice (such
as koshihikari)
jammy eggs, halved
rakkyo or pickled shallots (see Note)
fukujinzuke

Around the Table by Julia Busuttil Nishimura, published by Plum, RRP $44.99,

photography by Armelle Habib

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Baked Risotto with Pancetta & Sugar Snaps : Dinner Express – George Georgievski

Dinner Express

George Georgievski

Plum

Pan Macmillan Aust

ISBN: 9781760988463

“Chuck it in, it’ll be right! This is the attitude I take whenever I make this risotto. I’ve tweaked
the recipe a few times since first eating it at my sister Suzy’s place many, many years ago. The
pancetta is the secret: the smell and crispness is next level and I highly recommend you add
a few extra slices for yourself while no one else is looking. Let’s get crackling, I mean cracking.”p88

Grab all of this
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
440 g (2 cups) arborio rice
1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Vegeta stock powder
300 g sliced pancetta
100 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas, trimmed
50 g salted butter
75 g (¾ cup) grated parmesan
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
60 g baby rocket



Dinner Express by George Georgievski, Published by Plum, RRP $26.99, Photography by Nikole Ramsay

SERVES 4
It’s time to do this
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Heat the vegetable oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the rice and give it a good stir for about 1 minute, then add 250 ml (1 cup) of the vegetable stock and let it simmer until the stock has almost disappeared. Pour in the remaining vegetable stock and the Vegeta, then cover with the lid or foil and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, place the pancetta on the prepared tray and bake in the oven for the last 15 minutes of the risotto cooking time, until crisp. Keep an eye on it as the thickness of the slices will determine just how quickly they cook.


Now blanch the sugar snap peas in boiling water for 1–2 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Remove the risotto from the oven and stir through the butter, parmesan, olive oil, sugar snap peas and half the rocket. Scatter the remaining rocket over the risotto and position the pancetta
on top (making sure you eat a few slices while no one is looking). Divide among shallow bowls and serve.

Did you know?
If you’re vegetarian, replace the pancetta with finely sliced tofu sprinkled with smoked paprika and salt. Cook for the same amount of time and scatter over the top before serving. You could also use ‘facon’ (fake bacon) instead, along with vegan cheese and butter to make the risotto
entirely vegan.


Some people say that you need to add dry white wine before the stock for it to be a real risotto, but my little peeps simply don’t like the taste, so I exclude it and add the Vegeta stock powder instead.


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#MondayMunchies: Stuffed Capsicums -Yummy Easy Quick Around the World -Matt Preston

Yummy Easy Quick Around the World Cover

Yummy Easy Quick Around The World by Matt Preston. Published by Plum (through Pan Macmillan)

p182 GREECE

MAKES: 4 LARGE OR 6 MEDIUM

PREP: 20 MINS

COOKING: 2 HOURS

“Stuffing vegetables and rolling stuff in vine leaves. These two techniques take on an important cultural significance
in this particular corner of the world. I didn’t know this when my mum would serve up roasted capsicums that were slightly slumped by the twin assault of roasting and stuffing; I just thought it was a tasty dinner, and the balance of the salty, meaty filling was ‘ace’ with the crimson flesh, its sweetness intensified by the oven.

I fear that the joy of the stuffed capsicum – like that of the baked potato or leeks rolled in ham and baked in a cheese sauce – has been lost to this generation. So let’s bring it back! If it’s going to be a campaign, we need a better hashtag than #getstuffed. Your inspiration is required, so make the dish, photograph it and post it on Insta tagged @mattscravat with your idea of the perfect #hashtag for the campaign.” p. 182
Stuffed capsicum

125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing and drizzling
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400 g lean beef mince
2 medium zucchini, coarsely grated
4 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
3 teaspoons dried Greek oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
½ whole nutmeg, finely grated
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sea salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
100 g (½ cup) long-grain white rice
1 × 400 g can crushed tomatoes
150 ml chicken or beef stock, plus extra if €needed
1 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
25 large mint leaves, thinly sliced
75 g pine nuts, lightly toasted
4 large or 6 medium red capsicums (look for straight sides with stalks if possible)

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Heat 60 ml (¼ cup) of the oil in a large frying pan over medium–low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add the celery and cook, stirring, for 2€minutes or until just soft. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes or€until aromatic. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and set aside.

Increase the heat to high. Heat half the remaining oil in the same pan. Add half the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Return all the beef to the pan and stir in the zucchini, thyme, dried oregano and mint, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute or until well combined.

Stir in the onion mixture, then add the rice, tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 15€minutes or until the rice has absorbed the liquid and the mixture looks moist but not saucy. You can always add a little more stock if needed. The rice will still have a little
resistance to the bite, but don’t worry as it will continue to soften in the oven. Stir the parsley, mint and pine nuts into the mince mixture. Season again if needed and€remove from the heat.

While the filling is cooking, prepare the capsicums. Use a sharp knife to slice around the top of each capsicum to create a lid. Try to do this neatly as this top will go back on. Carefully hollow out the middle, removing the seeds and membrane with a spoon. Brush the capsicums all over with oil, including the lids. Use a tablespoon to fill the capsicums with the hot mince mixture, but don’t overload them as the filling will expand during baking. Top with the capsicum lids.

Dig out a high-sided ceramic or cast-iron baking dish that will snugly fit the capsicums in€a standing position. Transfer the capsicums to the dish and drizzle with a little extra oil. Cover the dish with baking paper and then with foil (the baking paper stops the capsicums from sticking to the foil) and tightly seal. Bake for 1 hour, then uncover and bake for a further 30 minutes. The capsicums will be soft and nicely browned.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool down a bit. Serve just as they are or with the Greek salad.

 

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Cheat’s Chicken Paella: The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet – Dr Tony Bird, Dr Michael Conlon and Pennie Taylor

CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet

Recipes extracted from The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet by Dr Tony Bird, Dr Michael Conlon and Pennie Taylor. Available now, Macmillan Australia, RRP $34.99.

p138 THE CSIRO HEALTHY GUT DIET
11 G FIBRE PER SERVE GOOD SOURCE OF RESISTANT STARCH

Cheat’s chicken paella

SERVES 4
PREPARATION 20 minutes, plus standing time
COOKING 45 minutes, plus rice cooking time

 

Cheats Chicken Paella

olive oil spray, for cooking
600 g chicken breast or thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 large red capsicum, seeded, 1/2 finely chopped and 1/2 thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 1⁄ 2 cups (375 ml) salt-reduced tomato passata
pinch of saff€ron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons boiling water for 10 minutes
150 g broad beans
1 1/2 cups (180 g) frozen peas
150 g green beans, trimmed
1 cup (185 g) cooked basmati rice (see page 41)

2 cups mixed salad leaves, lemon wedges, to serve

Heat a heavy-based frying pan with a lid over medium heat and spray with olive oil. Add the chicken and cook, stirring for 4–5 minutes until browned all over. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Spray the pan with a little more olive oil, then add the onion, chopped capsicum and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the paprika and cook for 30 seconds. Add the passata and bring to a simmer. Stir in the saffron mixture, chicken and 1/2 cup (125 ml) water and bring to the boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20–25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Preheat the oven grill to high. Line a baking tray with foil, top with the sliced capsicum and grill for 5 minutes or until softened and the skin is slightly charred.

Cook the broad beans in a small saucepan of simmering water for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon, run under cold water and double-peel. Add the peas to the pan of simmering water and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain. Cook the beans in a saucepan of simmering water for 4 minutes or until tender but a little crisp. Add the capsicum, broad beans, peas and beans to the chicken mixture.

Divide the rice among 4 plates or bowls, top each bowl with one quarter of the chicken and vegetable mixture and serve immediately with the salad leaves and lemon wedges to the side.

 

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Brekky Rice Pudding: The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet – Dr Tony Bird, Dr Michael Conlon and Pennie Taylor

 

 

CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet

Recipes extracted from The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet by Dr Tony Bird, Dr Michael Conlon and Pennie Taylor. Available now, Macmillan Australia, RRP $34.99.

**I eat this or a version of it most mornings ( and sometimes for lunch) 🙂

BREAKFAST 71
7 G FIBRE PER SERVE LOW FODMAP
UNITS PER SERVE BREADS AND CEREALS 0.5 PROTEIN 0 FRUIT 1 VEGETABLES 0 DAIRY 1 FATS AND OILS 1

Brekky rice pudding with fruit and almonds

SERVES 4
PREPARATION 10 minutes
COOKING 25 minutes

1 cup (100 g) basmati rice
600 ml high-calcium, lactose-free skim milk
1 stick cinnamon
1 large wide strip lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
ground cinnamon, to serve
seeds and juice from 4 passion fruit
125 g strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered
20 g flaked almonds
2 tablespoons lactose-free natural yoghurt, to serve

 

BrekkyRicePudding

Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, then add the rice and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a heavy-based saucepan. Add the milk, cinnamon, lemon zest and vanilla and bring to the boil over
medium heat. Reduce the heat to low–medium and simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes or until the milk is absorbed, the rice is cooked and the mixture is thick.

Stir in the maple syrup.

Divide the rice pudding among 4 bowls, sprinkle with ground cinnamon to taste, then top evenly with the passionfruit, strawberries and almonds and serve warm with yoghurt.

This can be made the day before and chilled in the refrigerator overnight, if desired. The pudding will thicken on chilling, so loosen with a little extra skim milk, if you like.

 

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California ‘Fried’ Chicken Sandwich – Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food

Ultimate Fit Food

Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food ($39.99), published by Hachette Australia.

Photographer Jamie Orlando Smith

 

 

California ‘fried’ chicken sandwich

SERVES 4

“As a family with four teenage children, we are always looking for healthy ways of preparing not-so-healthy fast food favourites like pizza, burgers and fried chicken. This recipe is brilliant because it looks and tastes like a fried chicken sandwich, with the satisfying crunch from the chicken and the creaminess of the mayo, but is actually made with baked chicken and a yoghurt dressing. The kids love it, we know they’re eating well and everyone’s happy.” p. 224

50g wholemeal flour
200ml buttermilk (or 2 eggs, beaten)
150g puffed rice
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder or granules
4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried sage
8 mini chicken breast fillets
4 wholemeal buns
1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and sliced
½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mexican hot sauce such as Cholula (optional), to serve

FOR THE YOGHURT DRESSING

75ml Greek yoghurt
½ garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp cider vinegar

California "fried" chicken sandwich

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas 4.
  2. Put the flour, buttermilk and puffed rice into three shallow bowls. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and dried sage to the buttermilk and mix well. Crush the puffed rice with your hands so that the pieces are broken down slightly but not powdered.
  3. Dip a piece of chicken into the flour so that it is completely covered. Remove and shake off any excess, then dip into the buttermilk. Allow any excess buttermilk to drip off, then put the chicken pieces into the puffed rice. Turn over to make sure they are completely coated, then place on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
  4. Put the tray into the preheated oven and bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking.
  5. Meanwhile, make the yoghurt dressing; mix together the yoghurt, crushed garlic and vinegar with a little salt and pepper. Taste and add more vinegar if needed.
  6. Slice open the buns and divide the avocado slices between them. Top with shredded iceberg lettuce.
  7. Once the chicken is cooked, place on top of the lettuce and spoon over dollops of the yoghurt dressing, as well as a drizzle of hot sauce, if desired. Close the buns and serve immediately.

PER SERVING

KCAL 510

FAT (g) 13.0

SATURATES (g) 4.0

CARBS (g) 67.0

SUGARS (g) 10.0

FIBRE (g) 8.0

PROTEIN (g) 27.0

SALT (g) 1.30