Greek Spinach and Rice – Spanakorizo

 

[Photo from the internet, we ate mine]before I remembered to take a pic]

You can do this the traditional way or the easy way – my preferred way when in a rush for a side or accompaniment for a grilled meat or fish dish! This is the easy way so I should call it spanakorizo – sorry.

Ingredients
150 gm chopped frozen spinach thawed*
½ onion chopped 
1-2 spring onions chopped
1 Tbsp EV olive oil plus more for drizzling
½ Tbsp butter
Juice of half lemon (throw in some zest too if you like the tang)
I tsp dry mint or 1 Tbsp of fresh
1 Tbsp chopped dill or 1 tsp dried dill**
1½ cups cooked medium grain rice ***
Salt/Pepper
Serves 2

Method
Pop the spinach in the microwave for 2 mins then squeeze out liquid. Drizzle with a few drops of oil and/or lemon juice.
Sauté the onions with the rest of the olive oil and butter until soft
Add the cooked rice, spinach, dry mint, dill and heat through. Add a little warm stock or water if the mixture is too dry
Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil or better still butter. You could also add a little cheese (of your choice) but I like as is. Easy peasy and quick!

Chook’s note:  You could cook this in a risotto style if you have the time in which case *wilt fresh spinach in a little lemon juice and oil and then drain. Then add to other ingredients including *** ¼ cup of uncooked rice and ½ cup of water. Cover and simmer adding extra water or stock if needed. Brown rice gives an added depth of flavour.
** I find dill is one of those herbs a little hard to find sometimes and when you do there’s a lot of dill to be used fairly quickly before it spoils.  A favourite dish of ours is turmeric fish which needs a fair whack of dill but not a whole bunch. So I dry the picked-fronds in the microwave (see note) then crumble them, pop them into a small jar and freeze. The taste is good and you always have dill on hand – you only need a little. That small jar sits beside my wee jar of frozen dried kaffir lime leaves in my freezer. 

Forzen dried dill next to kaffir lime leaves (in the back are my bits and pieces,
I don't throw things out. They all get used)

Note on microwave drying: Wash and thoroughly dry the picked herbs – you can do this with any herbs. Place them between sheets of absorbent paper towel and place in microwave on high for 20-30 sec.  They may need 2 or 3 or more goes before they are completely dry and crumbly. Just turn them between blasts.  Once cool you can crumble then and store them however you want.  In the freezer I like little jars because they stay airtight in the damp environment and the lid is easily removed and replaced. But use whatever suits your kitchen and uses. Remember that dried herbs go a lot further than fresh once the water is removed.  Have fun!

Pasta with Artichoke Sauce

 

Don't be fooled, I bought them already prepared!

Ingredients
Serves 2
1 small jar of artichoke hearts, drained
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
½ lemon, grated zest and juice
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 Tbsp olive oil (to personal taste)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper (I use Szechuan pepper)
Optional: mushroom and spring onion
120 gm bucatini (or spaghetti) or enough for two
Splash of reserved pasta water or hot water

To serve
Chopped parsley
Grated parmesan
Optional: Crispy bacon

Method

* Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta, reserve some of the starchy water.

* Place the drained artichokes, cheese, lemon zest and juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until combined *See Notes.

* Season to taste 

* Add a little oil to a pan and gently sauté the onion and mushroom, if using

* Drain the pasta and place it back in the hot pan and immediately pour the artichoke sauce over and toss to combine. Add a few Tbsp of the pasta water to bring it all together. 

Serve sprinkled with more parmesan cheese and parsley – and bacon crumbles if using. Serve immediately! 

Chook’s note: I use artichokes marinated in oil and use just a little of the oil in the sauce.

Try chopping a rasher of bacon and cooking till very crisp. This is totally optional but does add a bit more texture and flavour.   

*Note: The sauce can be blended until creamy or, as I prefer, left a wee bit chunky. All a matter of personal preference. 

I use pasta that I usually have already cooked and in the freezer. It’s such an easy option and the good thing is that the starch in pre-cooked cooled pasta is converted into ‘resistant starch’ which increases the food's fibre-like properties, resulting in a lower glycemic response, better gut health, fewer absorbed calories AND it saves time.

This is one of those go to recipes for a lazy night. Just keep a tub of precooked pasta in the freezer along with lemon zest and juice which I normally do. And a block of parmesan cheese in the fridge which I do because it’s my goto cheese for all manner of things. Oh and a jar of artichokes. As a substitute if you don’t have artichokes, you could substitute Chinese broccoli or some other vege. And you have a meal ready to go.

The sauce can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days before using and I daresay it would breeze perfectly well.

You can thank me later!

Slow-cooker Indian-style roast beef

 

Succulent spiced roast beef - simple and delicious

Ingredients
1.5kg beef blade roast
2 Tbsp rogan josh curry paste*
1 cup beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
Warmed naan bread and plain yoghurt to serve

Pickled Cucumber Rice
3 tsp vegetable oil
3 brown onions, halved, thinly sliced
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
5 fresh curry leaves
3cm piece fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups basmati rice
3 cups chicken stock
2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled into ribbons
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves

Method

* Rub beef all over with curry paste. Place in the crock of a largish slow cooker. Add stock, cinnamon and curry leaves. Cover. Cook on low for 8 hrs (or on high for 4 hrs) or until beef is tender and cooked through. Turn halfway through,

* Pickled cucumber rice 

Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 mins or until browned and tender. Add mustard seeds (watch they don’t burn), curry leaves, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 1 min or until seeds start to pop. Place in a bowl and set aside.

* Place rice and stock in same pan over high heat. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil. Cover. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 to 18 mins or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff rice with a fork. Set aside for 10 mins. Transfer to a bowl, cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour (or used precooked rice)

* Place cucumber and vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

* Drain cucumber. Add to rice with mint and 1/2 the onion mixture. Toss to combine. Spoon into a serving bowl. Top with remaining onion mixture.

* Remove beef from cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm. Place cooking liquid in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 mins or until thickened slightly. 

Slice beef. Drizzle with cooking liquid.

Serve with rice, yoghurt and naan bread.

Chook’s note: 

* I didn’t have rogan josh curry paste so used up some korma curry paste 

* Curry leave. If you have a curry tree lucky you. I used rather dried ones that had been in the crisper for ages. They work and give fragrance.

I substitute cassia for cinnamon (every time) as I prefer its earthier flavour.

I always have cooked rice in the freezer (it’s better for you as it increases the amount of resistant starch thus a slower, more sustained release of energy).

I cooked this is a 3.5 L slow cooker and it was plenty big enough for my 1.4kg piece of blade.

I sliced the meat and put it in serving-size tubs for the freezer..

And as always don't be afraid to substitute ingredients and experiement.

Spicy Pork hand-pulled noodles

 

(Recipe adapted from Marion Grasby's recipe)

Ingredients
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I use peanut oil)
150g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp chilli powder (or to taste) *see note
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns *see note
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cm piece ginger
400g pork mince
Noodles or fresh pappardelle or other wide pasta
Finely sliced spring onion to serve

Seasoning sauce:
4 Tbsp oyster sauce
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp vinegar (I love Chinese black vinegar for this)
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce (the sticky one, very much like Indonesian kecap manis)

Method
* In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the seasoning sauce and set aside for a bit.
* Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and stir-fry for 3-4 mins or until they’re blistered and starting to char. Then add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 20s. Then stir through the chilli powder, paprika and Sichuan peppercorns.
* Add the pork mince and stir-fry for 2-3 mins or until just cooked. Pour in the seasoning sauce and mix through. Turn the heat down to medium-high and simmer for 2-3 mins or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
* Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add your choice of noodles. If you’re using the homemade Hand Pulled Noodles, follow the instructions for stretching the noodles into the water. Cook until the noodles are tender but still chewy. Use tongs to transfer the noodles directly into the pork sauce (save the noodle cooking liquid in case you need it).
*Turn the heat back on underneath the sauce and noodles and toss them together until well combined (add a couple of Tbsp of noodle cooking water if the sauce is too thick).

Divide among serving bowls and sprinkle with spring onion. Enjoy!

Chook's notes: This is a absolutely delish dish with a wonderful flavour profile!  A few notes on substitute you can explore.
For the chilli component I use gochugaru flakes (Korean chili powder or flakes). I have this also in paste form and use that in other dishes but the flakes or powder are simpler to use. In the end, just use whatever chili you have.

Szechuan peppercorns (are not really pepper) are aromatic and a bit citrusy. I put it in a spare pepper/salt grinder and it can be used on lots of things. But if you don't have Szechuan peppercorns use Tasmanian Pepperberry (which I find a bit hot) or  crush 1 tsp black peppercorns with 1 tsp coriander seeds, or use 1 tsp black pepper with 1/2 tsp lemon zest.  We're talking quite subtle differences but a little fragrance goes a long way to happiness.

A word on ginger! I buy a large chunk fresh, grate it and store in little bags (about 1-2 Tbsp ~4cm piece) in freezer. Very convenient to have on hand (goes in the caravan as well).

Pasta/noodles. I had half a packet of fresh (albeit frozen) fettuccine and that was absulutely fine. Took just a couple of mins to cook. I haven't investigated hand-pulled noodles but you might like to buy fresh lasagna sheets and cut them to your preferred width but I like the simple options. 

Japanese Salmon Rice

 This is the simplest dish to make and is delicious

[https://honest-food.net/japanese-salmon-rice/]

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Japanese rice
1/2 cup sake (optional)
1 3/4 cup salmon stock or dashi (or water)
2 green onions, sliced thin
100-50 gm cooked salmon meat
2 Tbsp furikake seasoning (see below)
1 to 2 Tbsp sesame oil

Method
Rinse the rice well before cooking. Follow the directions on the package for the exact amounts of liquid to cook your rice in. 
Put the rice, sake and stock in a pot (adjust the amount of liquid to suit the particular rice you are cooking), cover and cook on high until it boils. Lower the heat to low and cook until the rice is almost done, about 10 mins, then uncover the pot and put in the green onions and salmon. Cover the pot again and wait 5 mins for flavours to infuse.

When you are ready to serve, fluff the rice with the sesame oil and furikake seasoning.

Chook's notes:
If you don't have furikake seasoning, simply toast 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and use that. (See https://thepingingchook.blogspot.com/2025/07/citrus-furikake.html for recipe)
I rarely have Japanese rice so I simply use good old Australian medium grain. And I substitute Chinese cooking wine for sake and use chicken stock (because I usually have some in the freezer and having to prepare salmon stock would take the simplicity out of this dish for me).
Don't use expensive cuts of salmon. I usually make this with smoked salmon cooking pieces but you could use tinned at a pinch.
Last time I added a handful of endemame beans and served the rice with a side of shredded spinach -  they certainly tasted good together and add an extra healthy twist.

Central Asian Herb Paste

 

(This is not specificall Tajik but comes from the region)

Ingredients
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch parsley*
1 bunch coriander
1 bunch mint leaves
2/3 cup pistachios
A pinch of salt if pistachios are unsalted
Fresh lemon juice - enough for your own taste
1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
Place all of the ingredients into a food processor. Puree, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally, until a paste forms. Add more oil and/or juice if needed.

Serve as a garnish with Tajik soup or whatever dish calls for some zing - the smell and taste of the mint is delicious.  Great on toast with fresh tomato. 

Chook's note:
The original recipe called for flat-leaf parsley but I prefer curly leaf it has a better flavour
*Pistachios - I used packet roasted nuts.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge or you can freeze small quantities for later.
This paste is very simple but a slightly different flavour profile to my Herb/Green Jam but just as delicious https://thepingingchook.blogspot.com/search?q=herb+jam

Tajik Green Lentil and Rice Soup

 

A simple nourishing soup in progress! 

Ingredients
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp ground allspice
4 med tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup brown rice
1 cup green or brown lentils
1-2 bay leaves
4-5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
* Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the cumin seeds. Roast gently until they are fragrant, about 1 min but watch they don't burn.
* Add the onions, celery and carrot with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and the onions translucent, about 5 mins
* Stir in the garlic and allspice and cook 1-2 mins. Incorporate the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and bring to a brisk simmer. Let simmer and thicken for 5 mins.
* Mix in the bay leaves, rice and lentils.
* Add the stock and bring to a boil then cover and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 20-30 mins, or until rice and lentils are tender.  The soup tends to be quite thick so if you prefer a thinner soup simply add more stock or hot water and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Crumbled goat cheese or feta 
Central Asian herb paste
Lemon wedges

Chook's note: 
You can take the easy route and use canned tomatoes (1/2 can) and also canned lentils (rinsed well)
Use whatever tice you prefer . Brown would be great but I used Basmati (because it was handy).
If you don't have allspice you could use nutmeg