Baked Brown Rice... Say what?

Reasons why one might need to know how to cook rice in the oven:

1) You're making brown rice, and it happens to turn out better in the oven.

2) You have too many dishes on the stove, and not one more burner is available for rice.

3) Your gas is out in your building because of a carbon monoxide leak and someone was hospitalized. You cannot use your stove (or hob, depending on where you're from), but you can use your oven, because it happens to be electric. You also happen to have an electric tea kettle. (Doesn't everybody?)

Okay. Yes. Number 3 is the reason I tried this recipe...

But listen, you should just try brown rice this way and trust me. I don't know about you, but I've had a lot of trials and tribulations with it in the past. It usually takes longer than the directions on the packaging say and never actually gets tender. I didn't have high expectations before trying this recipe, (any high expectations for the day were squashed by our loss of gas, and thus, loss of heating) but was very pleasantly surprised when the rice actually turned out perfectly fluffy and soft!

This method completely gets it right. No more half-cooked, too-al-dente-to-be-considered-al-dente brown rice. No more scorched bottom-of-the-pot brown rice. No more soupy, even-though-it-cooked-for-twice-as-long-as-the-directions-said brown rice. The texture will be correct.

It also seemed to taste better (probably because it was cooked more thoroughly) than when I make it on the stove.

And that all makes sense because this is Alton Brown's recipe. (Alton Brown is never wrong.) The oven, according to Alton, provides multi-directional heat which produces even cooking. You wont even have to stir once you put it in the oven.

served right out of the oven, topped with a little bit of soy sauce

leftovers used in fried rice the following day

And by the way, guys, looks like we'll be heading home in the next couple of weeks. (Not a moment too soon, I might add!) And by home I mean my in-laws' home until we get the law school/job/new house or apartment, etcetera, etcetera situation ironed out. So, boo that my beloved rotisserie will still be buried in storage upon our arrival! But, hooray that we get to come home to mom-in-law's yummy food!

Things are going to be chaotic for a little while, but I'll do my best to keep blogging. (I really like blogging.)

Cheers, friends!

Baked Brown Rice
adapted from Alton Brown via foodnetwork.com
serves 4-6

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain
• 2 1/2 cups water or stock
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.

Bring the water, butter, and salt just to a boil in a kettle or covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork.

Fried Brown Rice
I like a high-ish ratio of vegetables to rice in my fried rice. If you don't, consider adding more rice, or using only half an onion, or less broccoli or peas. Baby bok choy and shitake mushrooms go well in this fried rice too.

• 2 cups leftover brown rice
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce, or to taste
• 3/4 cup cooked meat or tofu, chopped
• ½ cup frozen peas
• ½ cup broccoli florets
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil for frying
• Chopped scallions, optional

Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large wok or frying pan. Add chopped onion, carrot and broccoli and cook for 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Move vegetables to one side of pan and add beaten eggs. Tip pan back so that egg creates a thin layer on surface the of the pan. Once the egg is set, break it up with a wooden spoon, and mix with vegetables.

Add rice, peas, scallions, soy sauce and meat or tofu and continue to fry for about 3 minutes more, or until peas are heated through.

Since it may get a little sugary over the next few weeks,

how about I tell you what we had for dinner? Because, as much as I wish sugar cookies and banoffee pie could take up the highest percentages of my daily caloric intake, they just can’t. At least not every day. My half-ass attempts at pilates and walks to the grocery store can only take me so far before I stop fitting into my clothes.

Right--so thanks to Ellie Krieger, Garden Risotto has become a staple in our house. It’s creamy. It’s fairly quick. It’s good for us. It’s easy.

That’s right, I said risotto is easy. And no, I’m not going to take it back. The only thing difficult about this recipe is stirring the Arborio rice without a break. It does get a little tedious, especially when your kitchen is the size of a shoe box and you feel like you might pass out from heat exhaustion, but it’s totally worth it in the end. Frequently stirring short-grained rice like Arborio helps the grains shed their starches and in turn, thicken the rice’s cooking liquid. Thusly does one achieve creamy rice without the addition of actual cream!

Let me tell you, I didn’t want to like Ellie Krieger initially. When I saw ads for her show on Food Network, I figured she’d be the token “health food” show-host that would try to convince me with a plastered smile that food without salt or butter or chocolate tastes just as good when in fact, it does not at all. And, given that I’m one of those people who thinks everything in moderation is better than completely eliminating certain foods from one’s diet, I wasn’t really interested in hearing anything of that sort… But that kind of ‘all or nothing’ mentality isn’t her style at all. She won me over with this recipe. It eliminates nothing and instead allows healthier ingredients—like spinach, asparagus and peas—to share lead roles with otherwise more crave-worthy items, like creamy rice. Also, those healthier ingredients in this recipe just taste good. It’s that simple.

The one thing I’ve changed about this recipe is roasting instead of steaming the asparagus before adding it to the risotto. If you don’t think you like asparagus, you just might after roasting it. I won Dad-in-law over by cooking it this way, and that’s really saying something. And it’s hardly any added effort since the asparagus can roast in the oven while you stir your rice.

This risotto is great on its own, but since my lumber-jack, meat-and-potatoes husband never feels satisfied without a hearty piece of animal protein on his plate, I like to serve it with a link of spicy Italian chicken or pork sausage on the side.

Garden Risotto
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
Yields about 6 servings, but can be halved easily to make 3
Add more or less vegetables according to what you like. I added more asparagus and baby spinach tonight. You’ll know the risotto’s done when the rice looks creamy and tastes al dente. The whole process should take a little over 30 minutes.

Ingredients
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning asparagus
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 lightly packed cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 pound asparagus
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven 425° F. Cut asparagus into ¾ inch pieces, and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with a teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Roast for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, the salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper and simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the broth to be absorbed before adding more, until rice is almost tender and creamy-looking, about 18 minutes.

Add the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the roasted asparagus and cook just until the vegetables are hot. Stir in the Parmesan and more broth if the risotto seems too thick. Serve with extra parmesan, if desired.