Healthy whole grains get better, faster in the Cuisinart pressure cooker!

Cooking and living the whole grain life - here at high altitude (4,412 ft) in Reno - can be something of a challenge. One option is to have one of the fuzzy logic rice cookers, which Maven has used for years. But, as good as it is, it’s damn slow. Brown rice takes freaking forever. It’s not something you want to do at the last minute for unexpected company.

Enter the Cuisinart CPC-600 6-quart electric pressure cooker. This is what lucky foodies and cooks will find under the Christmas tree this year!

I’m running this baby through it’s paces here at Kitchen Maven - what I do for you, my readers! And, today I did whole wheat berries and brown rice.

Oh, baby. Fast. Simple. And incredible.

I had to practically force myself to put the damn spoon down! Put the finished grains into the fridge for later use. Waaaaa. But they were so yummy! Just toothsome enough, not really al dente actually. Tender but whole. Not mush. They both could’ve got right into some outstanding soups with sauteed veggies and meat (unless you’re vegan, of course).

The wheat berries took the longest - 33 minutes ( I added 3 minutes for the altitude), with a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release. In other words, you don’t quickly release the pressure by turning the valve. Just let it cool down naturally. Since I was actually busy doing my exercise for the day, I let them simmer for probably 20 minutes until I could take them out and photograph them.

I used one cup of rinsed wheat berries to 3-1/2 cups of water, with 1-1/2 teapoons of the Herbamare seasoning salt, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Incredible. When done, I kept uh, tasting. Just a bit more.

The same results with brown rice. Only the brown rice took 13 minutes. The book said 10, but again, this is Reno. I used the same High Pressure and the slow Natural Pressure Release method.

Now, I realize they are more ‘soupy’ than a rice cooker would do them. But it’s a simple matter to drain off the excess liquid (shame, since it’s soooo flavorful) and use either grain in a pilaf side dish or such. But the sheer speed makes these grains so accessible for a weeknight supper that it’s well worth an extra step. With a bit of practice, I think I can pair down the amount of water.

On my next experiment, I think I’ll saute (on the saute setting of the wonderful Cuisinart) some onion in grapeseed oil, with some Juliet Mae Garam Masala Indian spice, then add the brown rice, with a chicken or vegetable broth.

Oh, gosh. That sounds great.

At any rate, this pressure cooker makes healthy, inexpensive whole grains completely accessible to the modern, time crunched home cook. I got this Cuisinart Pressure Cooker online at Amazon for well under $100, with no shipping charges. Now that’s real economy.

-maven

Polenta lasagna with swiss chard ala Spice Marrakesh

When the package of spice blends from Juliet Mae Fine Spices and Herbs arrived, I tore into it. I was looking forward to one of their newest offerings: Spice Marrakesh - An Aromatic Spice Blend for Winter Stews. The possibilities of what I could do with a North African blend of nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cardamon and clove seems endless. But stew? Yes, that would be nifty too - after I try all the other things that came to mind.

I had another lasagna idea noodling around in my cranium - one with rich, creamy, comforting polenta rather than the usual wide noodle. Hmmm. Could I bring it together? Would it be any good?

The answer: “Yes!”

 

I wanted a couple of things from this recipe. It had to be relatively easy, use commonly available ingredients, budget friendly and have a ‘Wow’ factor. I think it succeeds on all markers. The soulful, and mildly exotic Marrakesh spice blend really warms on a cold winter night without ringing the three-alarm bells.  This is more of a deeply comforting flavor palette that can still delight and surprise guests, even with something so everyday as a lasagna.

The recipe I’ve developed here has two basic components, the lasagna itself and the rich tomato sauce that it nestles in for serving. I didn’t want to mess with pre-cooking the polenta, and then worrying with cooling it. I want fast. So I used the pre-cooked sleeves of polenta that you simply slice. You can certainly choose to prepare your polenta the traditional way to keep the costs down.

Ingredients for the lasagna

Two 18 ounce roll packages/sleeves of cooked polenta - available at Whole Foods and other markets

One 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes - San Marzano, Muir Glen or Hunts

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

One small onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced

3 cups of chopped, blanched, drained swiss chard (you’ll need two small bunches or one humongous one)

1/2 cup golden raisins ( or green Afghan raisins if you can find them)

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon poultry demi-glace

One small 6 ounce can of tomato paste

4 cups of grated cheese - I used whatever was in the fridge: parmigiano-reggiano, swiss, pieces of this n that.

4 tablespoons of cooking oil - olive, canola or grapeseed

3 tablespoons of Juliet Mae Spice Marrakesh

1 tablespoon italian herb blend

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start some lightly salted water boiling in a medium size pot. When it breaks to a boil, reduce the heat and add the chopped swiss chard. Let it cook, with a couple stirs, for about three minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Reserve.

In a hot skillet, add the oil and sauté the onions until they are translucent. Remove them to another dish. Begin to sauté the beef and pork. Add the spice Marrakesh, a dash of salt, garlic,  the italian herb blend, the poultry demi-glace, the raisins, tomato paste and the wine when the meat has begun to turn brown. Stir to combine, and reduce heat to a simmer.

Open the polenta sleeves with a knife, and slice them into slices about 1/3 of an inch thick. Open the can of crushed tomatoes - I prefer the sweetness of the San Marzano brand, although Muir Glen would also work, as would Hunts.

In an eight by eight metal baking pan, you can begin to assemble your lasagna. Place a layer of polenta rounds on the bottom, then a scatter of chard, then the meat mixture, then cheese. Pour about half the crushed tomatoes over that, then repeat the next layer. At the end, I pour the remaining crushed tomatoes over the top, before adding the remaining cheese to brown. I also dusted a bit more of the Spice Marrakesh on the top before popping it into the oven for 40 to 50 minutes.

Remove the lasagna when the top has browned nicely, and let it sit to cool down a bit before slicing.

Ingredients for sauce

One 8 ounce can of tomato sauce - unless you’re going to serve the entire lasagna. Then use a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce and approximately double the rest of the ingredients. The eight ounce can will make enough sauce for three servings.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced

3 tablespoons cooking oil - olive, grapeseed or canola

1 teaspoon of Spice Marrakesh

1/3 cup white wine

1 teaspoon poultry demi-glace

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon italian herb blend

salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan add the oil and, over medium high, saute the onions and garlic and deglaze with the wine. Reduce heat to simmer and add the can of tomato sauce, the spice Marrakesh, demi-glace, herbs and brown sugar. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Stir and let it simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes over very low heat.

To serve, spoon about a third cup of the sauce onto a plate, then add a nice square of the lasagna. You might like to garnish with fresh, chopped parsley.

This would be perfect, served with a simple salad of lettuces, paired with sliced oranges and dates, in a very light viniagrette.

Now, what else can I try with the Juliet Mae Spice Marrakesh? Hmmmm. A pistachio nut ‘brittle’? An olive oil and ground almond spice cake? What about a stuffed baby sugar pumpkin or squash? Oh, yes, there’s always stew, too.

-maven

This lasagna freezes very well, wrapped first in plastic wrap and then tightly wrapped in foil, for a fast weeknight meal.

I always have demi-glace on hand - beef, poultry, veal and mushroom. It’s one of my must-have kitchen staples that live in my refrigerator. You can easily get it these days. The little packets are available on the same aisle as the broths and boullions, but I rely on the jars from Williams-Sonoma. They seem to go a lot further.

Stonehouse 27 cooking sauces offer tasty health benefits

I couldn’t believe my eyes as I scanned the ingredients list on a jar of Stonehouse 27 Dates & Tamarind cooking sauce… 0% sodium. Whoa! Somebody finally gets it.

From the Stonehouse 27 website:

“At Stonehouse 27, we believe that great cuisine should not contain anything artificial. We also cook with no added salt, use diabetic friendly low glycemic agave nectar instead of refined sugars, and use only canola oil, a heart healthy oil that is lowest in saturated fat among other cooking oils”

And here is the nutrition label:

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