Rice and Chickpea Casserole......with a Surprise Ingredient!

Our desert spring season is here, bringing with it cold nights and warmer daytime temperatures. We may not get the Midwest or Northeast sub-zero temperatures but it is the perfect time to enjoy warm, hearty casseroles to take the chill out of the cool evening air.

Rice casseroles in particular are a great choice. They are economical, delicious, quick and easy to prepare. For the price of a cup of rice, approximately one cup of broth or stock along with other inexpensive ingredients we have a tasty and satisfying meal for two to four people. Add a crusty baguette and a glass or two of red wine and we have a wintry feast!
One of my favorite and more versatile rice casserole recipes is an unlikely mélange of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rice and our surprise ingredient—a thinly sliced, ordinary potato. When I first tried this recipe I could not fathom the need for a potato with rice and chickpeas; that was until I tasted the dish. The potato adds an intriguing, hard to define, “what is that”, subtle texture to the casserole. I have tried this recipe without the lowly spud and it is just not as interesting as it is with it.

The most important ingredient in this recipe though, if not the most intriguing, is the rice. This casserole recipe comes from Spain and all Spanish rice recipes use only short or medium grain rice which is plump and chewy. When cooked properly, one can almost bite into each individual grain. It will quickly become “the” rice staple for any rice lover who has not yet tried it. The best short grain rice, available here, are any of the ones from Japan that are sold in the local Asian markets. Unfortunately, they are also the most expensive. A less expensive alternative, which I use, is the medium grain, Safeway brand rice.

Rice takes on the flavor of the liquid in which it is cooked. The more flavorful the liquid, the tastier the rice will be. If it is at all possible, when cooking rice, use homemade stock or broth instead of a canned broth that is full of sodium or the tasteless “sodium free” or “low sodium” versions. We normally have plenty of stock stored in the freezer to cook with that my wife makes from our leftover chicken or turkey carcasses. If homemade stock is not available use the no-sodium broth and compensate for its lack of flavor by salting the broth to taste. Now let us cook our savory rice casserole with chickpeas and the surprise ingredient—the modest potato.

Ingredients in Cooking Order:
Olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped
1 large Roma tomato, chopped with or without skin
1-2 gloves of chopped garlic
1 small or ½ medium sized potato, peeled, sliced 1/8 inch thick (about the thickness of a quarter)
¼ teaspoon paprika
2 cups cooked chickpeas (fresh preferred)
1 cup short or medium grain rice
1½ cups of chicken broth or stock
Few strands of saffron (a small amount of saffron is not expensive and is available from Trader Joe’s)
Salt to taste
4 slices of 2 inch wide pimento strips, optional (homemade preferred)

On the stovetop, in a ten inch, shallow, ovenproof casserole (preferably earthenware), add enough olive oil to coat the bottom (approximately ¼ cup). Heat the oil over a moderate flame; add the chopped onion and sauté until wilted. Then add the chopped tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, sliced potato and sprinkle in the paprika; cook this for an additional 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Now combine the rice with the other ingredients and cook for approximately five more minutes. Stir this frequently, coating the rice with the moisture in the casserole. Add the chickpeas, then the warmed chicken broth (adding cold liquid to a hot earthenware casserole can crack the casserole), salt and a few strands of crushed saffron. (It is best to dissolve the saffron first, in the warm chicken broth, to disperse its rich, savory flavor throughout.) Bring this loose, liquid mixture of rice, chickpeas and the other ingredients in the broth, to a boil. Cook this on a low flame, until it is no longer loose or until most of the liquid is absorbed, but not completely dry. (The consistency we want to achieve is similar to creamy oatmeal, moist but not wet or loose.)

Before we place our casserole into the oven we can add about four slices of two inch wide pimento strips across the top. The red pimento will add an interesting touch of color to the casserole’s presentation.
Place the uncovered casserole into a preheated, 325° F oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover it lightly with tin foil and let it “rest” and finish cooking away from the heat, for another ten minutes.
The rice should be soft but still chewy and not mushy. The key to making soft but chewy rice is to cook the rice until it is “near done”. Then, allow the rice to finish cooking covered away from the heat. This always produces firm yet tender and delicious rice.

Our meatless rice casserole is a meal by itself. Serve it with a tossed salad, crusty bread and a glass of light bodied red wine such as a Rioja (Marques de Riscal) or Tempranillo or a Spanish rosé, which I prefer. For heartier appetites add a grilled sausage or a small amount of sliced, grilled chicken breast to the plate or served separately on the side.
Enjoy!

Tempting Hot or Not

If the soup is being prepared a day or more in advance, store the potato leek mixture without the milk product in the refrigerator. On the day of serving, warm the soup first and then add the warm, not cold milk, half and half or heavy cream and slowly simmer for 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Serve the soup as above with a thick pat of butter and chopped chives for color and taste.

Soups are great for quick, inexpensive lunches and light dinners accompanied by a salad and cheese. There is nothing more comforting than cozying up to a hot, steaming bowl of soup on a cold night or cooling down with a refreshing tureen of cold soup, on a sun-drenched desert day.
One of my favorite soup recipes, “Potage Parmentier” is a hearty, luscious soup that is satisfying in all types of weather. Served hot it is hearty and flavorful, with tiny bits of potato and leek swimming in the bowl. When this hot, savory soup is pureed and chilled it transforms into the mouthwatering and refreshing soup known as Vichyssoise.

The transformation from hot Potage Parmentier Soup into refreshingly cold Vichyssoise is the work of French Chef, Louis Diat, around 1917; who at the time was the head chef for the posh Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York City.

There are a many stories about what inspired Chef Diat to convert Potage Parmentier soup to Vichyssoise. Some say it was impulse others point to necessity. This story is my favorite. While the Chef was searching for an exciting, new recipe for the hotel’s summer menu, he recalled his childhood practice of cooling down his mother’s piping hot Potage Parmentier soup with cold milk. Remembering the creamy smoothness that the milk produced in her soup, he added heavy cream instead, for an even richer, more luxurious version, thus giving birth to a new summertime culinary staple called, Vichyssoise. The name “Vichyssoise” itself means “from Vichy”, the village in France where Chef Diat was born; adding his own personal history to the new soup.

Hearty Potage Parmentier soup is a classic French recipe from the country villages of France. It can also serve as a base to make other soups by adding watercress or chopped mushrooms, diced carrots, cooked beans, diced cauliflower or whatever your culinary imagination can conjure.

Potage Parmentier Soup

Ingredients:
2 medium sized leeks
½ tablespoon sweet butter
3 three medium sized potatoes, russet preferred, peeled and quartered
1 pint of chicken stock, homemade preferred
¼ cup of whole milk, half and half or whole cream
Salt
Pepper, white preferred
Chopped chives

Finely mince the white portions of the leeks. In a sauce pan, sauté the minced leeks in butter until soft, not brown, add the chicken stock and quartered potatoes, salt and pepper to taste. (Note, warm the chicken stock before adding to the sautéed minced leeks to avoid splattering.) Once the potatoes are cooked soft, remove the pot from the burner and mash them in the pot with a potato masher, wooden spoon or fork. Many recipes suggest rubbing the soup through a fine sieve at this point. I prefer the hearty bits and pieces of the potato and leek swimming in the soup and do not follow this part of the recipe. However, if you prefer a smoother version, now is the time to rub the soup through a fine sieve. Return the soup mixture to the pot and slowly add about ¼ cup of warm, not cold whole milk, half and half or heavy cream, stirring constantly; simmer slowly to thicken for about 5 minutes. Serve the soup in a bowl or a tureen with a thick pat of butter, which adds a nutty richness to the soup. Garnish the soup with chopped chives for added color and flavor.


Vichyssoise

To transform Potage Parmentier soup into refreshing Vichyssoise cook as above. When the potatoes are finished cooking, remove the pot from the burner to cool the soup down to room temperature; then in an electric blender or food processor puree with milk, half and half or cream. Refrigerate and served cold, preferable in chilled bowls or tureens, garnish with chopped chives, omitting the pat of butter. (Note, salt loses its flavor in cold food, adjust seasoning before serving.)

Whether it is hot Potage Parmentier soup or cold Vichyssoise, they are delicious and simple to prepare. The cost to make this delightful all purpose soup is the price of some potatoes, leeks, milk or cream and chicken stock. Enjoy it as an inexpensive meal by itself or as the basis for a light dinner accompanied by salad, cheese, some fruit and crusty bread. White wine goes best with either the hot or cold versions of the soup. I prefer Riesling over Chardonnay with this soup. Try one from Alsace France or the Riesling made by Hogue in Columbia Valley, Washington State.