Tag: side dish
Ojibwe Wild Rice
Ojibwe Wild Rice
Wild rice has been an important part of the Ojibwe’s diet. While not actually rice, but the seeds of marsh grass, wild rice is harvested around the Great Lakes area by beating the grass with large wooden sticks into canoes. This is a simple recipe that is extremely flavorful and makes a great side dish to accompany just about any protein.
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice washed and rinsed
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 leeks
- 1/4 cup Grand Marnier optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place rice, water, and optional Grand Marnier in a pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low; stirring occasionally. Cook for 20 minutes.
- In another sauté pan over medium high heat, melt the butter and add in the leeks.
- Sauté for 8 minutes, set aside.
- After the rice has simmered for 20 minutes, stir in the leeks. Simmer on low for another 20 minutes until the wild rice is tender.
Season with salt to taste.
Bulgur Pilaf
Bulgur Pilaf
You may have heard of bulgur, but might not be sure what it is. Bulgur is wheat berry grain that is graded from super fine to coarse; very reminiscent of couscous. Bulgar is very high in fiber, more than brown rice, and low in fat and calories. This version is a basic Lebanese tomato based preparation; ready in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 roma tomato finely chopped
- 1/2 small green bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fine bulgur wheat
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 3 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and green pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Mix in the bulgur to the sauce.
- Pour in the chicken stock and chicken peas. Cover and pull from the heat. Let the bulgur absorb the liquid for 10 minutes.
Chimichurri Shrimp Quinoa Salad
Chimichurri Shrimp Quinoa Salad
This is the first time I’ve cooked with quinoa. I’ve eaten it in numerous forms plenty of times and am now making it a regular part of my diet due to quinoa’s nutrient density of protein, fiber, b vitamins, and other minerals. The salad has chimichurri sauce mixed in with quinoa, shrimp, and grape tomatoes. If you aren’t a fan of shrimp, you can substitute cooked chicken breast.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 41/50 count shrimp
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups quinoa
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/2 cup chimichurri sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add in the shrimp and boil for 4-5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pot. Remove the shells and tails. Set aside.
- Add the quinoa to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed.
- Allow the quinoa to completely cool.
- Mix together the quinoa, chimichurri sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir in the shrimp and grape tomatoes.
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is a raw sauce originating from Argentina. It is used on all types of meat, fish, vegetables, and doubles as a marinade. Chimichurri’s base ingredients are parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. There are a couple ways that you can prepare chimichurri. The first way is to process all of the ingredients in a food processor. This produces a a sauce with a homogenized blend. The other way is to process the herbs, onion, and garlic. Then the rest of the ingredients are stirred in. This gives the sauce a chunkier texture. Both are great. The sauce keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Chop the onions and garlic in a food processor.
- Add in the parsley and cilantro. Process until the herbs are finely chopped. Scrape into a bowl.
- Stir in the red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, chili flakes, and salt.
- Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
