A West African vermicelli and rice recipe stirs up Rice-A-Roni memories

Kacouchia talks about how the dish was a favourite of hers rising up in Ivory Coast in West Africa and says she added spinach to the rice-vermicelli combine when she began making it for herself.

I’m going to warn you, the connection could appear tenuous, however right here is the place her story instantly took me:

When I used to be in highschool, my mother began working outdoors the house. As the oldest of three children, I used to be tasked with cooking dinner for my siblings just a few nights every week. At least as soon as every week, that meant I made what turned my specialty: hen with barbecue-flavored Shake ’n Bake with sides of canned spinach (doused in vinegar) and a box of Rice-A-Roni.

If you’re not aware of Rice-A-Roni — effectively, I’m fairly stunned as a result of I thought-about it one of many main meals teams till I used to be about 20, however right here’s a primer: It’s rice with damaged vermicelli in it. You saute them for a pair minutes till the pasta browns, then add a seasoning packet and water to prepare dinner it. Pretty easy.

The nights I made that meal, I all the time thought the hen was positive, however I liked the rice, and I used to combine the spinach into it on my plate. I knew just about nothing about cooking or the cuisines of assorted cultures, however I all the time preferred how the feel of the pasta was a bit totally different than that of the rice, and then how the spinach added a distinct dimension to the pairing.

I can’t bear in mind the final time I purchased a can of spinach, a lot much less a field of Rice-A-Roni, however studying this recipe put the style of that mixture in my mind in a approach that left just one possibility: I needed to make it.

You can guess the place that is heading. It was terrific. Kacouchia, who writes that the dish she loved as a toddler originated in Lebanon earlier than being adopted by way of West Africa, doesn’t name for browning the vermicelli, so I tamped down my impulse to do this. Curry powder and ginger add character to the broth, and wilting the contemporary spinach into the rice codifies the non-public desire I developed many years in the past.

The cashews fill the protein function from the hen in a approach that makes a variety of sense for the best way I prefer to prepare dinner these days. I haven’t performed it but, however I’ve even thought-about embellishing the roasted nuts with a dry barbecue seasoning, and perhaps hitting the ultimate dish with a touch of vinegar, barely bending Kacouchia’s reminiscence simply sufficient to satisfy my very own.

Maybe I’ll do this someday when my brother and sister come over for dinner.

Joe Yonan will return in May.

Vermicelli Rice With Spinach and Cashews

NOTE: If utilizing common spinach, roughly chop it.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

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• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
• 1 1/4 cups white rice, ideally basmati or jasmine, rinsed till the water runs clear and drained
• 4 ounces vermicelli or angel hair pasta, damaged into 1-inch items (about 1 cup)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon grated contemporary ginger
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon positive salt, or extra as wanted
• 3 cups no-salt-added vegetable broth, divided (may additionally use do-it-yourself)
• 1 pound child spinach (see NOTE)
• 2 teaspoons chopped contemporary flat-leaf parsley

In a big, dry skillet over medium-high warmth, toast the cashews till they develop into darkish brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Keep the pan transferring, as they’ll burn rapidly. Transfer the cashews to a bowl.

Return the skillet to the stovetop and scale back the warmth to medium. Add the oil, adopted by the scallions and garlic, and prepare dinner, stirring, till softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice, vermicelli, curry powder, ginger, sugar and salt, and stir to mix. Add 2½ cups of the broth and enhance the warmth to excessive to deliver to a boil. Cover the skillet, scale back the warmth to medium-low, and prepare dinner till the broth is absorbed and the rice is generally cooked by way of, about 10 minutes.

Add the spinach, a handful at a time, and stir it into the rice till it begins to wilt. Keep including handfuls of spinach till it’s all included, then add the parsley and the remaining 1/2 cup of the broth. Cover and prepare dinner till the spinach is wilted and the rice is totally cooked, one other 3 minutes.

Serve sizzling, with cashews sprinkled on high of every portion.

Per serving (1⅓ cups), primarily based on 6

Calories: 379; Total Fat: 14 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 347 mg; Carbohydrates: 59 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 4 g; Protein: 12 g

This evaluation is an estimate primarily based on obtainable elements and this preparation. It shouldn’t substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s recommendation.

Adapted from “Vegan Africa” by Marie Kachouchia (The Experiment, 2022).

Tested by Jim Webster; e-mail inquiries to [email protected].

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