Pasta & Rice

I have decided to create a risotto using a legendary fruit of the island of Syros: salted capers.
 Huge and crispy with a never-ending taste, these wild capers are a unique delight –  they contribute to this simple dish in which the freshly produced ingredients really stand out and speak for themselves. The mixture of these  ingredients, combined with a sour local olive oil, is the perfect mix to accomplish the perfect “Greek Odyssey of pleasure.”

With spring in the air, I can only think of and recommend rezz bi foul, rice with fava beans. This recipe may be prepared as a vegetarian dish or with meat, as is the case with most Lebanese home cooking. Fava beans are used as shelled beans, or whole (when shells are fresh and tender). The best ratio is to have more shelled favas than rice.

The great thing about this dish is that you can par-cook it the night before, which greatly shortens the actual cooking time. I usually combine the ingredients, heat them to boiling, reduce the heat and let them boil gently for 5 minutes. I then turn off the heat, cover the pot, and that’s it. The next morning. Reheat the pot, stirring often, and cook over low heat until the mixture is thick and creamy. I prefer my porridge with a light sprinkling of brown sugar, but some people prefer a drizzle of maple syrup or a sprinkling of raisins.

This is a very simple master dish that uses a master stock slightly more robust than the traditional Malaysian Chicken Rice stock and will add complexity to the chicken that you are poaching. More importantly it will build the subtle but complex flavors when you use it to cook your rice, by far the star of this dish.