Side Dishes Archives - Page 16 of 22 - My Lilikoi KitchenMy Lilikoi Kitchen

Dinner, Lactose Free, Recipes, Rice Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Saffron Rice with Barberries, Pistachio & Herbs

March 2, 2014

Until quite recently I had never heard of Yotam Ottolenghi, a cookbook author, chef, and owner of four restaurants in the UK. I happened to be looking at recipes on The Guardian’s web site and there I found Yotam’s weekly column and was intrigued by the many vibrant herbs and spices he used in his recipes. Some of these ingredients cannot be found on Maui, such as barberries. Leave it to amazon.com to supply even the most obscure ingredients.

My friend Shanna at Curls & Carrots surprised me with a gift of Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem A Cookbook. I came home from work one day to find a package sitting on my doorstep. I can’t think of a better gift than a cookbook filled with interesting, flavorful, recipes and gorgeous photos. Thank you Shanna.

Sweet-tart Iranian barberries.

I substituted Italian parsley for the chervil which I can never find here on Maui. I would love to grow chervil however I hear it thrives best in cool climates (not Kihei, Maui).

Saffron water is poured over a portion of the cooked rice and will later be gently mixed in with the white rice, herbs, barberries and pistachios.

Saffron rice is the perfect side dish for roasted chicken and a garden salad.

Saffron Rice with Barberries, Pistachio & Herbs

Adapted from Jerusalem A Cookbook

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)

2 cups white basmati rice, rinsed under cold water and drained well

2 1/3 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 3 tablespoons boiling water for 30 minutes

1/4 cup dried barberries, soaked for a few minutes in boiling water with a pinch of sugar

1 ounce dill, coarsely chopped

2/3 ounce chervil, or Italian parsley coarsely chopped

1/3 ounce tarragon, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup slivered or crushed pistachios, lightly toasted (salted or unsalted)

salt and freshly ground white pepper

Preparation

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and stir in the rice, making sure the grains are well coated in butter. Add the boiling water, 1 teaspoon salt and some white pepper. Mix well, cover with a tightly fitting lid, and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. Don’t be tempted to uncover the pan, the rice needs to steam properly.

Remove the rice pan from the heat. All the water will have even absorbed by the rice. Pour saffron water over one side of the rice, covering about one-quarter of the surface and leaving the majority of it white. Cover the pan immediately with a tea towel and reseal tightly with the lid. Set aside for 5 – 10 minutes.

Use a large spoon to remove the white part of the rice into a large mixing bowl and fluff it up with a fork. Drain the barberries and stir them in, followed by the herbs and most of the pistachios, leaving a few to garnish. Mix well. Fluff the saffron rice with a fork and gently fold it into the white rice. Don’t over mix, you don’t want the white grains to be stained by the yellow. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer the rice to a shallow serving bowl and scatter the remaining pistachios on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I found the pistachios can soften once mixed into the rice. Add the pistachios just before serving the rice.

Chicken, Dinner, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Green Bean Stew with Roasted Chicken

January 30, 2014

One of my favorite dishes is beans slowly cooked in tomato sauce and spices served with a scoop of brown rice and tender lettuces dressed in lemon juice and olive oil. This particular recipe is adapted from Turmeric & Saffrons Khoresh-e-Loobia Sabz – Persian Green Bean Stew with Chicken. It’s very satisfying and leftovers are perfect for a work lunch.

My interest in Persian cuisine first developed when I came across a recipe for Jeweled Rice, a beautiful dish that includes ingredients such as cinnamon, cumin and turmeric, spices I love to cook with. I also found another fantastic Persian rice recipe from Shanna at Curls and Carrots. I’ve made Tah Dig many times now and it’s one of my favorite ways to prepare basmati rice.

With a very short list of ingredients, this green bean stew is delicious with or without chicken. I found that using the tender meat from a good, supermarket roasted chicken works so well I now use it instead of cooking my own chicken.

Green Bean Stew with Roasted Chicken

Adapted from Turmeric & Saffron blog

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pound green beans, washed, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

3 small garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup chopped tomato, peeled and seeded

1 1/4 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 cups rotisserie chicken breast, torn into large pieces

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preparation

Trim the green beans, rinse in a colander and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and golden, about 6 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for another minute.

Add the turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and pepper flakes. Coat the onion mixture with the spices. Add the green beans, chopped tomato, tomato sauce, and enough water to just cover the beans. Add the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir to combine all of the ingredients. Cover the pan and simmer the beans for about 40 minutes, or until the beans are very tender. Add the chicken to the pan and stir gently to combine. Once the chicken is warm, taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in lime juice and serve.

Appetizers, Mexican, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Guacamole ~ Alton Brown Style

January 24, 2014

Our two avocado trees, a Green Gold and Sharwil bear fruit in the winter and spring. The trees are currently loaded with fruit so we are enjoying avocados in numerous ways: avocado on toast, avocado salad, and plenty of guacamole. And, of course, the guacamole is a natural with all manner of Mexican dishes such as quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas and burritos. We love all of these dishes!

Guacamole is such an easy side dish to throw together. If you have good, creamy avocados as we do, you can simply mash them with salt and lime juice and slather it on a quesadilla. Given a bit more time to chop up a few ingredients, this recipe from Alton Brown is excellent. All the ingredients meld together beautifully and the end result is a fantastic guacamole.

Sharwil avocado is rich and creamy, my favorite avocado.

Guacamole ~ Alton Brown Style

Adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe

2 generous servings

Ingredients

2 Sharwil or Haas avocados

1 lime, juiced

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons finely diced onion

3 rings of pickled jalapeño, minced (or more depending on how hot they are)

1/4 cup finely diced tomato

1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

1 small garlic clove, minced

Preparation

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Use a potato masher, add salt, cumin and cayenne and mash. Fold in the onions, jalapeño, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Season to taste with extra lime juice. Serve right away.

Appetizers, Dinner, Japanese, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Renkon no Kinpira – Sautéed Lotus Root

January 13, 2014

Lotus root, or hasu as we call it in Hawaii, is a unique delicacy. Once you peel and slice this rather homely root (or rhizome) you’ll see how beautiful it is. Only available in Hawaii for a few months each year, I buy it as often as I can. With its snowflake like appearance when sliced and its crunchy and delicate flavor, it is wonderful sautéed and served with brown or white rice. This is my favorite way to prepare it.

Peeled and sliced lotus root. It’s crunchy with a mild flavor some say reminds them of jicama.

A simple combination of a few ingredients will add just the right depth of flavor to sautéed lotus root. Besides sautéing, lotus root can be used in soups, fried (crispy tempura), pickled or steamed. Its crispy texture holds up very well regardless of how it is prepared.

Renkon no Kinpira – Sautéed Lotus Root

Adapted from mmm-yoso!!!blog

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound lotus root, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup white vinegar

3 cups water

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons canola oil

2 tablespoons sake

6 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons mirin

Ichimi Togarashi or cayenne pepper

Toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

Pour vinegar and water in to a large glass bowl. Peel the lotus root, rinse and slice thinly. Place in vinegar water.

Combine sake, soy sauce, sugar and mirin in a small bowl. Set aside.

Drain lotus root, place on paper towels and pat dry.

Heat sesame and canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté lotus root for about 5 minutes, Do not over cook. Add soy sauce mixture and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates about 2 minutes.

Remove lotus root to a shallow bowl. Sprinkle with Ichimi Togarashi (or cayenne pepper) and toasted sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature.

Dinner, Potato Salad, Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes

Eggy Potato Salad with Pickles

January 6, 2014

“Will Drive For Food. ” That’s one of my mottos! And that’s also the title of the article where I found this tasty potato salad recipe. The May 2012 issue of Bon Appétit caught my attention because I for one, will definitely travel for food. Anytime. In this particular article, the authors, Jenny Rosenstrach and Andy Ward, write of stopping at Sally Bell’s Kitchen in Richmond, Virginia, picking up their famous lunch boxes for their drive from New York to South Carolina. Jenny and Andy describe the lunch boxes as consisting of a Smithfield-ham and iceberg sandwich, a deviled egg, a frosted cupcake, and best of all, eggy potato salad topped with a sweet pickle chip. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect afternoon road trip meal?

The recipe calls for using only the egg yolks however I couldn’t waste those lovely egg whites so I included half of them in the salad. The others we ate on the spot, sprinkled with salt and pepper. Yum!

Yukon Gold or red potatoes work well in this salad. I found some nice Yukon Golds so that’s what I used.

The potatoes are coarsely smashed instead of cubed. This makes for a very creamy sort of potato salad.

The pickle juice adds a sweet and tart flavor to the dressing.

Eggy Potato Salad with Pickles

Adapted from Bon Appétit May 2012

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sweet pickle juice plus 8 – 10 sweet-pickle chips

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 large hard-boiled eggs, separated, egg yolks smashed finely plus two egg whites finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped red or Maui onion

1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

Paprika

Preparation

Place potatoes in a large pot. Add water to cover by 2 inches, add 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes or so. Drain. Place potatoes in a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Whisk mayonnaise, pickle juice, Dijon, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Using a large wooden spoon, coarsely smash potatoes, leaving some larger pieces mixed with some well mashed pieces.

Add dressing, egg yolks, egg whites to potatoes and a toss to coat. Add onion and parsley, gently mix to incorporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill before serving.

Divide potato salad among small plates or bowls, dust with paprika and top with a sliced dill pickle chip or two.

Dinner, Recipes, Rice Dishes, Side Dishes

Beautiful Tah Dig ~ Persian Rice

December 1, 2013

I love rice. Brown, white, short, medium and long grain, basmati, jasmine, arborio, wild rice (not technically rice). Some of my favorite recipes are Sopa de Arroz, Japanese sushi rice, Korean bibimbap and now Tah Dig. I found a recipe on the internet for Persian Jeweled Rice. It was mesmerizing. This colorful, gorgeous rice dish was added to my list of must try recipes. This also led me to a rice recipe I had never heard of before, Tah Dig. Shanna over at Curls & Carrots inquired about the stone bowls used in my bibimbap recipe. She mentioned she had a Persian rice cooker that produces a crispy crust of rice just as the stone bowls do. Persian rice cooker? I had never heard of it before.

Many thanks to Shanna for posting her Easy Shabbat Tah Dig recipe. I could barely wait to try it.

The golden color of the rice comes from a pinch of turmeric and beautiful saffron.

I purchased my Pars Persian rice cooker on-line from Kalamala. Their shipping fees are reasonable and they have excellent customer service. Now to find space for another appliance….

I had some herb tofu in my refrigerator and quickly assembled the tofu on skewers with cherry tomatoes then briefly browned them in my grill pan. Tofu kebabs!

Tah Dig ~ Persian Rice

Adapted from Shanna’s recipe at Curls & Carrot s (Mahalo Shanna!)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white basmati rice

1 14.5 ounce can chicken broth

1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter, melted (or real butter for those who are not lactose intolerant)

1/2 teaspoon salt

a pinch of turmeric

a few pinches of saffron, crumbled

Preparation

Soak rice in a bowl of water for 1 hour. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, drain well.

Place the rice, chicken broth, butter, salt, turmeric and saffron in a Persian, non-stick rice cooker. Give the ingredients a stir.

Place the cover on the rice cooker and cover it with a kitchen towel. Cook the rice for 45 minutes.

Turn off the rice cooker and let rice sit, undisturbed for at 15 minutes. Invert rice on a platter and serve.

Older Posts

Newer Posts

Side Dishes

Saffron Rice with Barberries, Pistachio & Herbs

Share this:

Green Bean Stew with Roasted Chicken

Share this:

Guacamole ~ Alton Brown Style

Share this:

Renkon no Kinpira – Sautéed Lotus Root

Share this:

Eggy Potato Salad with Pickles

Share this:

Beautiful Tah Dig ~ Persian Rice

Share this:

Follow My Lilikoi Kitchen