Shoulda Coulda Woulda

I meant to post again last Thursday, I really did.  I had the same intent last Friday.

But the weekend?  Forget about it.  Shabbat dinner at a friend's, work, bridal shower, concert, preparing a large tea party that turned raucous and went on for four hours, followed by collapsing in exhaustion.

The reality is that David and I are going on vacation in two weeks, and I don't have enough hours in the day.  And let me tell you, mama needs a vacation.  I'm already dreaming about a cappuccino in a Roman piazza.  And some gelato.  Not to mention wine and pasta.

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted the Thomas Keller "easy" seared scallop recipe, which I served with a vividly colored, lemony, spicy rice.  The rice was the perfect accompaniment, and had the virtues of being both easy and fully flavored.  I happily ate rice leftovers for days.  The one thing I didn't get to do was make it into fried rice with some shrimp, which would have been delicious.

A note about this recipe:  I was not trying to make enough rice for a family of giants, which is about how much it actually made.  You could easily scale it back to half a batch and have enough for four side servings.

It does make brilliant leftovers, though.  I might have scowled a little when I realized David had eaten the last of it.

Lemony Spiced Rice
Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine,
April 2012

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, slivered
1 small poblano, seeded and sliced into thin rings
2 cups jasmine rice
4 large strips lemon peel, yellow part only
Juice of one large lemon
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews, chopped

In a large (and I do mean large!) heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil just until shimmering and immediately add the mustard seeds and turmeric.  Stir until the mustard seeds start to pop and quickly add the onion, garlic and chile before the seeds start to pop out of the pan--not that that happened to me, noooo.

Stir the veggies occasionally until the onion is softened, about seven minutes.  Then add the rice, stirring it into the veggies until it is coated with the oil. 

Add the lemon peel and salt, along with three cups of water.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.  Cook for about 25 minutes and then check the rice for doneness.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice and stir it in.  Cover the pan again and let it stand, then fluff the rice and remove the lemon peel.  Just before serving, stir in the cashews.

Makes 8 good size side dish servings.