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So there really isn’t much of a story behind this dish, but
it was a lot of fun to make, looks good, and tastes even better. The Idea was
sparked from a gallon of feta cheese I have in my fridge, yes I have a gallon of
feta, that’s not the important part here. In addition my wife had just pulled a
zucchini out of the garden and was looking for something to do with it, as
always this got my wheels turning. While my wife sliced and pan-fried the zucchini,
I made a rice pilaf with turmeric and lemon, then cut some thick slices of
tomato and asked my wife to cook them for just a second on the skillet, just to
soften them a little and draw out some sugars.
When it came time to plate I cut the top off of a small
plastic cup, which I used as a ring mold. I filled the cup, 2/3 with the pilaf,
and then topped it off with feta cheese. Carefully removing the ring, I created
three more stacks,( you do have to move quickly or else the dish will be cold before
you can serve it.) I then completed the stacks with the tomato and zucchini. I
finished the dish off by dressing the whole thing in a little bit of lemon
juice.
Hopefully this dish will inspire you to take a second look
at some of the things in your kitchen and come up with some creative and beautiful
ways to put them together.
Do you have a certain way of making rice pilaf? I have always made rice cooker sticky
ReplyDeleterice. Please instruct.
:-)
Thanks for asking, Pilaf is really easy actually, I would stay away from the sticky rice, and go with something less starchy, I usually use Jasmin, or basmati because those are the two I keep in the pantry, but most any rice will work.
DeleteYou will want to start with a mirepoix 50% onion, 25% carrot 25% celery. Sweat that in the bottom of your pan with butter, Add your seasonings, Thyme, basal, in the example above I used lemon and turmeric, and it really depends on what you are looking for. Once the seasoning is added put in your rice and use stock in place of water, really any stock will work, chicken stock is the most common though. Honestly if you are scared of doing your rice on the stove, this can be done in the rice cooker, just make sure you get your vegetables sweated properly first. Good luck, let me know how it turns out, or if there is anything else I can do to help.