Assorted rice recipes

A few weeks ago we exchanged some favourite ways to prepare rice comfort meals.

These two recipes are very similar to traditional versions of Persian and Indian dishes I leant about fifteen years ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/23/biryani-golden-vegetables-lemon-pilaf-recipe-anna-jones-the-modern-cook

Rice Lombard is a wonderful, rich yet simple savoury dish for a chilly night: 

http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/riselombard.html

It can be made suitable for vegans as it was originally a Fasting dish in the Middle Ages. 

Rice with Mushroom and Basil

15th century Italian 

3oz mushrooms (soaked water if dried)

1/4 yellow onion, peeled & coarsely chopped

3cups water

3 Tb butter

2Tb oil

1 1/2 cups rice

2cups veg stock

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped spinach

A bit of basil

Salt, pepper

Chop mushrooms. Coarsely chop onion. In frying pan put butter, oil, onion, mushroom. Make veggie stock in a pot. Fry onions until clear. Add water to stock. Cook spinach in a pot. Add rice to frying pan. Stir to coat rice with oil. Add one c of stock to frying pan. Stir, keep adding stock as it gets absorbed till rice is almost tender. Stir in spinach, cheese, salt, pepper. Serve hot.

Rice pudding with tea-soaked dates and mandarin.

The pic doesn’t look like much, I’ve had this with the fruit chopped and mixed in. Delicious!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/rice-pudding-tea-soaked-dates-mandarins/30147992-98bd-4067-b452-0d722cc257f3