Silk Road Vegetarian. Dahlia Abraham-Klein
brown rice in this book. If you prefer long-grain white rice, you can reduce the cooking time by 15 minutes.
Basic Silk Road Rice Variations
Along the Silk Road, each community developed its own way of preparing rice. Some colored their rice with spices, while others added dried fruits for sweetness. Still others garnished with nuts for crunchiness. As an alternative to expensive meat, beans were often added. Rice was also used as a filling for dolmas (stuffed vegetables) and made into puddings. (The earliest gluten-free desserts!)
There are four primary methods of cooking rice along the Silk Road based on the Persian method. Several appear in this book in the chapter titled “Rice Dishes” (page 128).
Steamed Rice—Chelow (Farsi) is rice that is carefully prepared by first soaking and parboiling, at which point the water is drained and the rice is steamed with a towel. This method results in fluffy rice with the grains separated and not sticky. A golden rice crust called tahdig develops at the bottom of the pot. The name literally means “bottom of the pot” in Farsi.
Polo (Farsi) is rice that is cooked in exactly the same manner as chelow, except that after the rice is drained, other ingredients are layered with it and they are then steamed together. Polo has its origin in Persia, but spread eastward, morphing into the Indian pilau, and westward, where it became Spanish paella and Italian risotto. You will find many polo recipes (with their varying spellings) in this cookbook.
Boiled Rice—Kateh (Farsi) is rice that is boiled until the water is absorbed. This is the traditional dish of Northern Iran.
Boiled Rice with a Towel—Damy (Farsi) is rice that is cooked in almost the same fashion as kateh, except that the heat is reduced just before boiling and a towel is placed between the lid and the pot to prevent steam from escaping. (Damy literally means “simmered” in Farsi.)
Quinoa
Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but the seed of the goosefoot plant. It is used as a grain and substituted for grains because of its cooking characteristics. The name comes from the Spanish spelling of the Quenchua name kinwa or occasionally qin-wah.
Quinoa has a delightful characteristic that is all its own; as it cooks, the outer germ around each grain twists outward, forming a little white spiral tail, which is attached to the kernel. The grain itself is soft and delicate and the tail is crunchy. It has a fluffy consistency and a mild, delicate, slightly nutty flavor.
Before you cook quinoa, the seeds must be rinsed to remove their bitter resin-like coating, which is called saponin. Quinoa is rinsed before it is packaged and sold, but it is best to rinse again at home before use to remove any of the powdery residue that may remain on the seeds. This residue looks like soapy “suds” when the seeds are swished in water. Placing quinoa in a strainer and rinsing thoroughly with running water easily washes the saponin from the seeds.
The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium, and iron, and it’s a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins. It contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. It is exceptionally high in lysine, cystine, and methionine, all of which are amino acids not found in high concentrations in other grains. It is a good complement for legumes, which are likewise often low in methionine and cystine. The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all eight essential amino acids, making it one of the very few plant foods to offer complete protein. (Some types of wheat come close to matching quinoa’s protein content, but grains such as barley, corn, and rice generally have less than half of the protein of quinoa.)
Because of its relatively high oil and fat content, quinoa grains and flour should be stored in glass jars in the refrigerator. Use the grains within a year and flour within three months.
Perfect Quinoa
Here is a procedure that will ensure that your quinoa turns out perfectly every time. This recipe calls for one cup of quinoa, but you can use any amount—just use one part quinoa to one and a half parts liquid. Use the liquid that best suits your dish.
Makes 4 side dish servings
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (170 g) quinoa
1½ cups (375 ml) Vegetable broth (page 45), water, or other liquid
1 If you are working with unrinsed quinoa, start off by soaking it. You can soak it for an hour or more without a negative impact, but 15 minutes will do the trick. After soaking, transfer the quinoa to a strainer and rinse.
2 Pour the quinoa into a saucepan and add the liquid, bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 more minutes. Fluff and serve.
Food Preservation: Freezing
Try freezing summer surplus to extend the rewards of the season! Don’t wait for a huge collection—freeze in small batches to save it for later.
Why preserve when you can just run to the store? Preserving locally grown produce is a way to live locally and control the cost and quality of your food—and freezing is the simplest way to extend the life of food.
Selecting the Freshest Produce
Start with produce that is absolutely top quality and at the peak of freshness. If you freeze vegetables when they are immature, they will be soft and shriveled when you cook them. If they are over-ripe when you freeze them, they will be stringy and tough when cooked.
Selecting Freezer Containers
Containers should be moisture-vapor resistant, durable, easy to seal, and should not become brittle at low temperatures.
Wraps: For flexible packaging, use heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Freezer Bags: Use freezer bags for items that will not clump when frozen, such as peas. Once you fill the bag, remove as much air as possible to prevent oxidation. Shape sealed bags and stack them in the freezer like bricks.
Containers: Use glass or plastic, rectangular or square nesting containers. You can also use canning jars—with straight sides only; to avoid cracking when freezing, and facilitate removing the contents.
Packaging, Labeling and Storing
Leave space between the food and lid to allow for expansion. Before closing the container, make sure the sealing edges are clean. Label the container with the name of the food and the date.
Freezing Fruit
Unsweetened fruits deteriorate faster than those packed in sugar or syrup. Freeze packaged fruits as quickly as possible at 0°F or below to maintain quality for 8–12 months; citrus fruits and juices, for 4–6 months. To speed the process, place items against the cold freezer surfaces.
Freeze only the freshest fruit. Sort, gently rinse, and drain fruits, discarding any that are green or of poor quality. Do not allow fruit to soak in the water. Prepare fruits as they will be used: stemmed, pitted, peeled, or sliced. Prepare enough fruit for only a few containers at a time, especially those fruits that darken rapidly. Be wary of using iron utensils or chipped enamelware, as metallic off-flavors can result.
While not necessary, you can often achieve superior texture and flavor by preserving fruit in sugar or syrup. Those packed in syrup work well in uncooked desserts; those packed in dry sugar or unsweetened contain less liquid and are good for cooking.
Types of Packaging
There are various ways to pack fruit for freezing.
Honey Syrup—Best for keeping fruit firm for serving uncooked as dessert. Use a mild-flavored honey, like clover, locust, or alfalfa. For a thin syrup, dissolve 1 cup of honey in 3 cups of boiling water. Chill the syrup before adding it to the fruit. Shake a filled container to settle the contents. Pour the syrup over the fruit, completely covering it. If the fruit is