Orange Poppy Seed Rice

07 February 2013.

Rice Doesn't Have to be Plain and Boring: Orange Poppy Seed Rice.

Rice is one of my all-time favorite meal bases, which might sound kind of boring and obvious. But if you've ever actually looked at the entire display rather than just blindly grabbing your "usual" at the grocery store, you know that there are countless varieties of rice: long grain, basmati, wild, white, arborio, sticky rice, jasmine rice... And of course, so very many that I've also never heard of (according to Wikipedia, actually, there are over 40,000 known varieties of rice).
While trying new varieties of rice is certainly something you should consider, there are also many, many ways to spice up the rice you already have. Rice (especially white rices), being a grain which absorbs liquid and is itself relatively neutral in taste, is always ready to take up additional flavors. So far, I've introduced you to my favorite "pickle rice," rice with sesame seeds and with saffron... and here's another: subtly sweet, savory and a little bit creamy... Rice with toasted poppy seeds and a hint of orange.

I currently have at my disposal a fairly large bag of white basmati rice -- I usually do. I find that basmati is the most basic of all basic rices, yet not to be overlooked, as its very lack of defining qualities makes it super-easy to manipulate. In my previous recipes, I stressed the importance of turning your back on the simmering pot -- I strongly encouraged you, no, begged you, not to stir it.
Well, if the exception proves the rule... I'm taking it back for this recipe. Don't panic -- I'll explain why.

I began my cooking endeavor by toasting a tablespoon of poppy seeds in a covered cast iron pot (about 2 minutes -- you'll smell them). To the toasted poppy seeds, I added one cup of uncooked rice and two cups of boiling water -- I preheat my water in a kettle, but that's entirely up to you. Either way, you'll want to bring the rice to a boil, turn it down to simmer, and cover.
Traditionally, poppy seeds like to be paired with lemon, as in my romanesco recipe. But on this particular Thursday evening, I had an orange in my fruit bowl that was starting to take a turn for the worse. I juiced the entire orange, retaining about 2 tablespoons of the pulp, and added it to the rice.

And I stirred.

In fact, I stirred the rice a few times. Every five minutes, BRIEFLY, just enough to move the rice from the edges to the center, bottom to top. Most immediately, stirring will help to ensure that the orange pulp breaks up a bit. But you'll notice that the texture of your rice is also changing -- becoming softer, milkier, creamier. Don't stir it to death or you'll end up with an oatmeal-like consistency. I like contrast of this super-creamy texture with the crunchy seeds.

If I'm being honest, this meal was largely about using up some leftover ingredients kicking about the kitchen -- the aforementioned orange, the last three sausages from my attempt to save puntarelle night, and about 1/2 cup of corn from the fiesta corn recipe.
I decided to create a smoky, woodsy combo that would complement the rice -- don't worry, if it's starting to sound like I'm cooking up a pot full of Pine-Sol or Citrus Pledge, you'd be wrong. Which is to say, I used some mushrooms.
In fact, I used some of my frozen mushrooms (about 2 cups frozen). I use a pretty wild mixture of mushrooms (beyond your average champignon), and I urge you to be a little adventurous. While I realize that some of the more unusual mushrooms also tend to be pricy, I would also note that their bold, pungent flavors and aromas are easily overpowering, and thus, for a dish like this one, two or three of these expensive mushrooms will do the trick. Try adding a few oyster mushrooms, "penny buns," scaly wood mushrooms, parasol mushrooms, shaggy ink caps, chanterelles, or morels. (I like to begin with a base of shiitake mushrooms or champignons -- I choose two varieties from the category "unusual" above and add a few of each kind.)

As I said before (also on puntarelle night), mushrooms are easy to freeze and, in my opinion, only get better thanks to the process. First off, they can be kept for a couple of months in your freezer, and the liquid that comes out of them while you thaw/cook them (I'll explain this in a moment) is unbelievable, and highly-concentrated. So again, two or three mushrooms will definitely give you a lot of bang for your buck. That said, you'll want to use the frozen mushrooms to make soups, pasta sauces, etc. -- not for sautés or stir-frys.

I heated two cups of my frozen mushroom mixture (from frozen) on low heat in another small cast-iron pot, with the lid on. If you think about allowing them some time to thaw on your counter ahead of time, that's great, good for you -- but if you're coming home from a long day and need to get dinner on the table, rest assured that the thawing process is unnecessary. As the mushrooms slowly, I repeat, slowly, thaw on low heat on your stove, the "water" that comes off will form a thick sauce -- you should stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking or getting overcooked (so for those who pre-thawed their mushrooms, use the mushrooms and the liquid).
Once the mushrooms had completely thawed and were staring to cook, to this mushroom "sauce" of sorts, I simply added my tofu sausages chopped into bite-sized pieces -- my sausages were a little bit peppery, and they readily took on a bit of the mushroom flavor -- about five minutes did the trick.

At this point, if you have a bottle of white wine, add a splash (about a tablespoon) to the mushroom sauce (and uncover) -- if you don't, no worries. I mixed in 1/2 cup of corn and allowed it enough time to heat through (covered) -- a couple of minutes.

You'll notice that I did not add any salt or pepper to anything in this recipe. In this instance, I prefer to allow each of my dinner companions to add his desired pinch or dash to the finished product -- this rice is great leftover, but has a tendency to become too salty, and then the poppy seeds will be reduced to the status of pure decoration. Mushrooms, too, are easily overwhelmed by added salt and will tend to give up their water too rapidly, causing them to get slimy and eventually, to scorch.

It may not be the most beautiful meal I've ever created, but there was something comforting and warm, kind of like a cabin in the woods or a campfire meal. We ate it by candlelight, with mugs of steaming hot tea.