JimH said:
I am really REALLY unimpressed by:
Polenta
Risotto - any sort, tried loads incl. cooked by Italians
Couscous
They don't make me ill, I'd just rather eat rice, bread, spuds or, at a pinch, papier mache.
Polenta. Quite tasteless stuff; needs flavouring. It can be nice when it's refried to a thin "biscuit" in olive oil and butter, then eaten as the carb with a stew or soup.
Risotto. Great stuff. Easy to make. Fry a chopped onion and diced salami in some butter or oilve oil. Add 1 cup of arborio rice, two cups of water, a stock cube, a handful of peas, or some other veg chopped small. Red or yellow peppers (capsicum) is good for colour. DO NOT ADD SALT as there's already more than enough in the salami. Cover, and wait for the rice to absorb the water. This can take 20 minutes for arboria rice... At the end of cooking, remove from the heat, and stir in a bit of
cheese.
Couscous is almost tasteless, but has a bit of texture. Put some currants or sultanas in dry couscous, add some spices (ras-al-hanout, wu hsiang fen, or whatever is to hand). Pour over enough boiling water to wet it all, stir then leave to stand for a couple of minutes so the grains swell.
Most grains can be used instead of rice and are available from healthfood shops.
I often eat rye, wheat, spelta (a variety of wheat), barley and kamut. Often, these are sold with the husk still on; cooking times are longer than polished white rice, but the texture is better and you get some more protein and much more fibre.
Keith.
