Rice & Grains
2019 recipes found
Salt-Rising Bread
Salt-rising bread is an American technique with deep roots: Home bakers who developed the bread in Appalachia didn’t have access to yeast, but found a way to bake without it when they noticed that their milk starters bubbled up overnight. It’s much easier and far more consistent to get a good rise with yeast — even bakers who make salt-rising bread regularly have failures with the finicky technique. But those who continue the tradition are rewarded with light, tender, airy crumbed bread that makes a particularly delicious toast. Be sure to maintain the starter at an even temperature, as directed, or it won’t take.
Kale and Quinoa Salad With Plums and Herbs
I was so taken with the spicy, sweet and savory mix of flavors in the soba salad with eggplant and pluots that I made a few weeks ago that I decided to use the same formula for a kale and quinoa salad. The kale is the main ingredient here, with quinoa adding texture and bulk.
Couscous With Turnips and Sweet Potatoes
Turnips store well and are a vegetable you can count on during the winter. They are rich in sulfuric compounds, particularly glucosinolates, that are believed to have antioxidant properties. They’re also a very good source of potassium. When you can get them with the greens attached, they’re a two-in-one crop, like beets, as their greens bring you a whole new set of nutrients – lots of calcium, vitamin K, vitamin A and beta carotene – and culinary possibilities. Turnip greens are similar in flavor to kale, perhaps a little more bitter, and with a more delicate texture. Winter turnips are not sweet and tender like young spring turnips. They stand up to longer cooking times, so they’re perfect for soups, stews and gratins. But I found them equally welcome in a frittata and a stir-fry. This spicy, comforting couscous demands little in the way of prep time. It’s the long simmer on the stove that results in the tasty broth. As it simmers, the sweet potato falls apart into small bits that tint the broth.
Lamb and Couscous Salad With Chickpeas, Mint and Feta
Quinoa, Spinach and Poached Egg
I’m in that third situation a few nights a week, and often all I want to eat is a salad — but a salad with substance. I’m hungry at the end of the day, and dinner is the one meal of the day that I sit down to enjoy in a leisurely fashion, whether alone or in company. I’ve found that one of the most enjoyable ways to bulk up my salads (as well as panini and grain-and-vegetable combos) is to top the dish with a poached egg. Sometimes poached eggs are the centerpiece of my dinner, cooked in marinara or spicy tomato sauce and served with toasted country bread or over rice.
Quinoa Pilaf With Sweet Peas and Green Garlic
Quinoa’s grassy flavor is beautifully complemented here by the sweet vegetables that are appearing in farmers’ markets.
Ciabatta
Long before Emily Weinstein was the editor of NYT Cooking, she wrote columns about learning to cook and bake for the Food section’s long-defunct Diner’s Journal blog. This recipe, part of her penultimate baking column, comes from Sarah Black, who was credited for bringing ciabatta to New York in the early 1990s. Make sure to bake it to a very dark brown: Color is flavor here, and the deeply burnished crust makes for a fabulous end result.
Couscous Salad With Dried Apricots and Preserved Lemon
While summer is still with us, you can serve any vegetable-laden dishes you’ve been enjoying all season alongside your meat. Or for something different, I offer a couscous and dried apricot salad dressed with preserved lemon and plenty of herbs. If you can’t find any preserved lemons, and can spare a few weeks, here’s a recipe to make them yourself.
Quinoa and Carrot Kugel
A request from a reader for a quinoa and carrot kugel inspired this week of recipes. I have no idea if this caraway-scented version resembles the kugel she enjoyed at a reception (see the variation below for one that might resemble it more), but it was a big hit in my household
Chicken Koftas With Lime Couscous
This splendid yet easy meal pairs koftas (gently spiced meatballs) and couscous with fresh accents from herbs, limes and crunchy pine nuts. Using a food processor to blitz all the kofta ingredients provides enough friction to help the meat proteins bind and form a much nicer and compact kofta. A similar technique is traditionally employed in India, where ground meat is chopped until it becomes a paste. While the sweet and tart taste of dried cherries are nice here, cranberries are an excellent substitute, bringing a similar spot of brightness to this dish.
Couscous with Raisins
Couscous With Tomatoes, Okra and Chickpeas
Okra is popular in the North African cuisines of Tunisia and Algeria, where it is also dried. Because you don’t cut it up, the okra doesn’t become slimy. It contributes great flavor to the stew. Very high in dietary fiber, okra is a great source of vitamins A, C, B complex and the phytonutrients glutathione, xanthin, lutein and beta carotene, all believed to have antioxidant properties. For the best texture and flavor, look for the smallest pods you can find
Baked Asparagus With Shiitake, Prosciutto and Couscous
In this satisfying, set-it-and-forget-it spring dinner, asparagus, mushrooms and prosciutto are steamed in a parchment packet under low heat. The technique was inspired by a recipe in Paula Wolfert’s “The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook.” The parchment insulates the ingredients, while keeping the temperature steady and allowing the flavors to mingle. Here, the result is tender asparagus infused with earthy and sweet flavors from the mushrooms and prosciutto alike.
Root Vegetable Tagine With Herbed Couscous
A pot of warm, fragrant root vegetables spooned over bright, lemony couscous is as good as gold on a winter day. Studded with chickpeas, raisins and meaty morsels of stewed tomatoes, this dish balances traditional tagine spices — cinnamon, coriander and turmeric — with a bright boost of ginger and lemon. Given a little time on the stove for the flavors to deepen and the vegetables to turn spoon-tender, this tagine is a worthwhile investment. Double it for a week of leftovers. You don’t need a traditional terracotta tagine to pull this dish off. A Dutch oven mimics the same high heat conduction and similarly traps steam to keep the vegetables tender and moist, and bathed in flavor from the broth.
Seven Vegetable Couscous
Seven-vegetable couscous is a well-known offering at Sephardic Jewish New Year celebrations, but since it's a bountiful, colorful tribute to the harvest, it makes a great meat-free main dish for Thanksgiving as well. Despite the long ingredient list, it's as easy as can be to make.
Raw and Cooked Tomato and Herb Salad With Couscous
This is an adaptation of a recipe from Yotam Ottlenghi’s cookbook “Plenty.” I liked his idea of combining two different types of couscous, as well as both roasted and fresh tomatoes. The roasted tomatoes coat the couscous and add depth to the overall flavor of the dish.
Provencal Crown Roast
Giant Couscous Cake With Roasted Pepper Sauce
This savory cake is very versatile in that you could substitute the couscous with other cooked grains, or make use of whatever herbs, cheeses or spices you have on hand. The options to make this cake your own are endless; leftover cooked barley or maftoul, Parmesan and Gruyère, dill or tarragon, toasted cumin or fennel seeds would all work well. Serve with a big green salad for a complete meal.
Salmon and Couscous Salad With Cucumber-Feta Dressing
The dressing in this 30-minute recipe is inspired by green goddess dressing and mast-o khiar, a Persian side dish of cucumbers and yogurt. Here, thick yogurt is combined with fresh herbs, tangy feta and crunchy Persian cucumbers. If you have trouble finding Persian cucumbers, they can be swapped for similarly sweet-skinned English cucumbers or peeled regular cucumbers. Flaking the salmon into the salad evenly distributes it and is a nice alternative to serving a fillet for dinner. Leftover salad can be enjoyed cold for lunch the next day, freshened up with a squeeze of lime juice and more fresh herbs.
Couscous With Zucchini
Couscous With Chickpeas, Spinach and Mint
Spinach and chickpeas are a popular combination throughout the Mediterranean. This is one of my favorite couscous tagines. You can also use sturdier greens like chard. If you do use chard, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes rather than the 5 minutes required for spinach.
Summer Vegetable Couscous With Spicy Pesto
Hearty but not heavy, this stew uses lots of summer vegetables available from the farmers' market. It’s a little complicated to put together, but both the vegetable stew and the couscous can be made in advance, even a day ahead, without suffering. (And if you are short on time, you can skip Step 1 — cooking the dried chickpeas — and use 2 cups canned chickpeas instead.) In season, look for other varieties of sweet peppers besides conventional bell peppers, and colorful tomatoes and onions as well. Even though the directions on most packaged couscous claim it can be cooked in less than 10 minutes, taking the time to steam it further makes it lighter and more digestible.
Merguez and Lamb Couscous
Couscous With Tomatoes, Kale and Chickpeas
The topping for this couscous isn’t too much more complicated than making a tomato sauce with blanched kale and chickpeas added. Reconstitute the couscous, then start the topping. By the time the topping is done the couscous will be ready to steam in the microwave.