Recipe: Halloween Rice

I've been wanting to try black rice for a while, and with Halloween on my mind, I thought I'd make a dish revolving around Halloween colors.  Also pumpkin.  Like I mentioned in my tomato soup recipe, I like finding ways to use it in savory dishes.  

It didn't turn out quite how I expected visually, but the taste was fantastic.  Since I plan on making it again, I'll probably come back and either edit this post with my tweaks, or do a 2.0 update.  Either way, I'll walk you through what I actually did, and what I would have done differently.

I chopped up an onion and a pepper for the base of my rice dish.  I started with the onions.  As I've explained before, onions haven't been my friend, and I can't do them if they aren't completely softened in the dish.  I let them start getting golden before I added the peppers.  Now, looking back, I shouldn't have added the peppers at all.  Just let the onions get to your desired level of softness, then add some garlic. 

Time to toss in the rice.  While white or brown rice might be cheaper, I got a one pound bag of the black rice for $2.90, so I think that's still a fair price.  Not a big impact on the wallet, but a huge impact on the dish.  Originally I thought to cook this risotto style, but I didn't feel like standing over the stove.  How I finished it off gets it pretty close feeling to that anyways, so I'm glad I saved myself the energy.

I used a 1:2 rice to liquid ratio.  If you were just eating the black rice plain, it would be a little wet, but the extra liquid is perfect for this dish.  I used beef stock to amp up the flavor, but you could use any type of broth you like.  I added my herbs, brought to boil, then covered it and lowered the heat.  Once done cooking, I turned off the burner to let it rest.  This is the point you'd want to saute the peppers in a separate pan...

...and add them when the rice is done resting.  That way you won't cook out the color like I did.  Live and learn.  Anyways, at this point I also added black beans, peas, pumpkin, and shredded cheese.  It's kinda ugly, but that doesn't bother me much.  I think having the peppers stay properly orange will give it more appeal.  Like I said, I'll let you know when I do a second round.

Even if it doesn't look pretty, the smell and taste was delicious.  The wild rice definitely seems to be heartier than the white rice I usually get.  I didn't serve up as much as I usually would, but I still felt plenty full by the time I was done scraping the bowl clean.  I recommend this to anyone who wants to do something different than the typical theme food seen at Halloween parties and potlucks.  Or who wants to make it just 'cuz.  

Recipe:

1 Onion

1 Bell Pepper (orange)

1 1/2 tsp Garlic

1 1/2 cups Black Rice

3 Cups Beef Stock

1 tsp Marjoram

1 tsp Celery Salt

1/2 tsp Thyme

1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree

1 cup Peas (frozen)

1 15 oz can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Dice bell pepper and onion.  Set aside pepper.

2. Saute onion on medium heat until soft.  Add garlic.

3.  Add rice, broth, marjoram, celery salt, thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 30 minutes.

4.  Remove rice from heat.  In a separate pan, saute bell pepper until tender.  Add to rice along with pumpkin puree, peas, black beans, and cheeses.  Stir well, add additional salt and pepper to taste.

5. Enjoy!