Monday, October 26, 2009

Meatless Monday: Raisin Walnut Spiced Rice



Divas, the holidays are just around the corner!

I'm having a hard time reconciling that fact given that in SoCal the temperatures have been regularly soaring into the upper 80's and low 90's. Despite the summer-like heat, my cooking has shifted gears into fall-inspired dishes, featuring rich spices, stews, chili, winter squash and lots of nuts!

Today I'm bringing you another great meatless recipe!  This is a spiced rice dish studded with walnuts, raisins and Swiss chard and flavored with fresh ginger.  The nuts add a nice source of protein and omega-3's, the chard adds dark leafy greens and the brown rice adds a whole grain.  This can be eaten as a filling stand alone dish or it would go great with my Meatless Monday's recipe from last week for Roasted Acorn Squash and Hazelnut Soup (CLICK HERE!).

This dish would also be a great holiday side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas!  Make it instead of the usual stuffing!  It's got beautiful color and flavor, plus it's a superbly healthy!

Raisin Walnut Spiced Rice
Serves 4 people 

2 cups long grain brown rice, cooked
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 cup jumbo raisins, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups Swiss chard, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt & pepper

Directions:

Add the olive oil to a cast iron skillet or saute pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the shallot and saute for a few minutes, until lightly caramelized.  Add the ginger and cook for another minute until fragrent.

Next add the raisins and walnuts, stirring them with the shallots and ginger, and cook for a few minutes.  Add the Swiss chard and stir into the mixture.  Continue cooking the chard until it's tender.

Finally, add the rice to the mixture and stir to combine.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally.  The rice should  take on a nice, nutty flavor.  Stir in the chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients:

organic Swiss chard from Studio City Farmers Market

organic shallot and ginger from Hollywood Farmers Market

organic long grain brown rice from Whole Foods

jumbo raisins and organic walnuts from Trader Joe's

2 comments:

  1. Will the Domestic Diva be covering Festival 8?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's a distinct possibility, though Kuzak may want to flock to the desert without me!! LOL. How are you?!

    xo

    ReplyDelete