30 Before 30: Saffron Rice (#2)

I needed something to go with my salmonmeuniere and when it comes to fish dinners, rice is usually the answer. Again I used this 30 before 30 challenge to do something other than just rice. I grabbed Ad Hoc at Home (and with the meuniere, I had my two largest cookbooks in the kitchen at once) and tapped into the genius that is Thomas Keller. This rice is basically paella without the rest and tasted amazing with the salmon. I used homemade chicken stock, but you can easily use veggie stock and make this vegetarian or vegan. It tastes great the next day too.

Saffron Rice via Ad Hoc at Home:

Serves 6

1/4 c. canola oil

3/4 c. finely chopped onion, cut just smaller than a grain of cooked rice

Kosher salt

1 tsp. saffron threads

2 c. short-grain rice

2 3/4- 3 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the one and season with a sprinkling of salt. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 3 minutes. Add the saffron. Reduce the heat to very low and cook for another 2 minutes. Do not brown the onions and saffron. Add the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring often, to toast the rice for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add 2 1/2 cups of the stock, stir once, scraping the side of the pan if necessary and cover. Bring the stock to a simmer and simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 8 minutes, until most of the stock is absorbed. Taste the rice and, if necessary, continue cooking, adding up to 3/4 cup more stock 1/4 cup at a time, as necessary, until the rice is almost tender and the final addition of liquid is almost absorbed. Turn the heat to low to allow the rice to absorb the remaining liquid, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and serve hot.

Simple, delicious, and a little different.

Recipes Complete: 2

Recipes to Go: 28

Bread and Onion Panade with Spicy Greens

Until I read this recipe, I had never heard of a panade before. Think of it as a savory bread pudding. It’s a great main dish and also works really well as an accompaniment. Be warned, this is a time consuming dish. However, you can make the whole thing and refrigerate it for the next day just prior to the baking step. I bet the flavors would be really good if allowed to sit too, like stuffing.  This is an amazingly tasty dish (especially with my requisite extra garlic) and provided me with my first opportunity to cook with mustard greens. Tackle this. It’s not difficult, just long.

Bread and Onion Panade with Spicy Greens from Serious Eats:

Serves 8

¾ lb. good-quality sourdough bread, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 Tb. unsalted butter

1½ lb. onions, sliced into thin half-moons

Salt

7 cloves garlic, minced

½ lb mustard greens (or broccoli rabe or Swiss chard), cut into fine ribbons

Freshly ground black pepper

1 c. Cheddar- Gruyère (or Parmesan or just plain Gruyère)

4 c. broth (homemade is best)

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease the baking dish or Dutch oven with olive oil or butter. Spread the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and toast for 45 minutes in the oven while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the butter in a deep, heavy skillet over medium heat. When the butter foams up, add the onions and sprinkle them lightly with salt. Cook over low heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. When they are soft, turn up the heat a notch or two and cook them for another 5 to 10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Stir frequently to keep them from burning.

Turn down the heat and add the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Add the greens and cook, stirring frequently. Sprinkle the greens with salt and pepper as they cook. When they are wilted and soft, take them off the heat.

Layer half of the toasted bread cubes in the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread half of the greens mixture over the bread cubes and pack it down into the gaps between the bread. Sprinkle with about half of the cheese. Make another layer of the remaining bread cubes and remaining greens. Cover with the remaining cheese. Heat the broth to a simmer in a small saucepan and carefully pour it into the baking dish. The bread and greens will look rather drowned and soupy; this is correct. Drizzle the top with olive oil. 

Cover and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover the dish and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crisp. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving hot.

I’ve had this alone, with a burger, with salad, standing up in my kitchen. I am a little bit in love with it. The bitterness of the greens plays well with the bread and the richness of the cheese. Trader Joe’s has an amazing cheddar gruyère mélange that I highly recommend in general, but it worked especially well for this. It was devoured at Thanksgiving and again at my parent’s house over Christmas. Take the time to make this, you’ll look like a superstar.

Vegetable Stock

I noticed the other day that the celery I bought the other day was getting a little limp and wimpy. I still had a carrot left over from the chicken noodle soup, so making veggie stock seemed the best solution. Bolstered by my success with chicken soup, I figured stock couldn’t be too hard. Plus, it’s getting to be winter and that means soup time! Stock is where soups get their start and though it’s easy enough to buy it at the store, I’m getting into this whole cooking at home thing (go blog!) and decided to just go for it. Plus, how hard is it to throw a bunch of veggies into a pot with water and herbs and let it simmer for an hour? Not. This is so easy.

Basic theory behind this one came from Joy of Cooking:

Mine made 9¾ cups

8 slightly crushed cloves of garlic
½ cup sautéed onions
½ yellow onion with peel, cut in half
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into three
1 carrot, peeled and cut into three
3 stalks of celery with leaves, cut into fours
1 cup shredded lettuce
Handful of parsley
½ Tb. oregano
½ Tb. marjoram
¼ c. pepper corns
½ Tb. thyme
Pinch of kosher salt
Dash of freshly ground pepper


I think parsnips look hilarious. They make me think of the witch scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is why I'm doing this. See it if you haven't (and who hasn't?). It's hilarious.

Start by sautéing the onion in olive oil. Meanwhile, peel parsnip and carrot. Cut the remaining veggies. Prep the garlic. After the onions are soft and slightly brown, throw into a large stockpot. Throw in all the veggies, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and peppercorns.



Add enough water to cover all this. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered for about 1½ hours or until the vegetables are very tender.



Strain and chill. I used a potato masher to get all the goodness out of mine. Skim fat if necessary (it probably won’t have any). I’m freezing all of mine, but you can stick in the fridge for use during the week.