Riso

Simple and in season: Punterelle with basmati rice

Per la versione in italiano cliccare qui.

Simple and in season.
Simplicity and seasonality. I got captured by this rhythm almost immediately.
My memory still holds so I’m able to remind my new year good intentions:  search and look beyond the usual and put order. Hidden inside the put order intention I find my need for simplicity.
There’re moments in life when make out a destination appears hard. I’m in one of those ones.
Many new experiences, some unexpected opportunities and it’s also time for some decisions. Choose which pathway follow happeared so fashinating challenging for that teenager who dreamed to escape from her little, toot little, valley.
Now it isn’t time for dreams or jokes. Say a “no” could mean close a door, generate one less sympathy from someone and, oh my god, one more wrinkle…as well as one less written row.

Simple and in season.
Ren suggests simplicity and seasonality.
My memory still holds and so during one of my lazy, graceful walking in Rome after a saturday cappuccino I recalled Simple and in season.
I looked to those tiny and simple puntarelle, I thought to basmati rice put (or hidden?) in my cupboard, that under my window where my lovely husband can hid almost nothing. It’s desperately fool of my food caprices.

And so….
Puntarelle, alias cicoria di catalogna, arrived on our little table.They come from a late fall or early winter chicory and are picked when they are young and tender an can be served raw.
I just added to them extra virgin olive oil, umeboshi acidulate, a pinch of salt and black pepper and if my memory still holds also a pinch of my beloved zatar.

nigella puntarelle rdb

That wasn’t enough.
I washed 200 grams of basmati rice thoroughly 5-6 changes of water. I was diligent. I didn’t loss any grain of rice…or almost. I used a colander with small holes.
Then I looked my patience, my closed friends who often runs away from me.
Luckely, I found it easily.
I put 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of salt in large bowl and added rice.
I left to soak for almost 30 minutes.
Strained the rice, I put 1 full cup of water into a saucepan with 1 teaspoon of salt and all my so simple basmati rice grains.
I left boil water and rice for almost 10 minutes till grains were cooked and water disapperared.
Just 1 teaspoon of nigella seeds in the rice and …

nigella puntarelle riso rdb

I made my ritual call: “It’s ready!!!”
The typcal call back: “I arrive”
And in our simple 35 smq we said “Buon appetito”.
Not more than Simple and in season of that 🙂