• Prep Time:
  • Cooking Time:
  • Serves: 1 Servings

How To Cook an Artichoke

  • Recipe Submitted by on

Category: Vegetables

 Ingredients List

  • Remove any damaged or discolored leaves from the outside of the artichoke.
  • With a sharp knife, cut the stem off flush at the bottom so that the
  • artichoke will stand upright without tipping.
  • Simmer the artichoke, covered, in about 3/4" of water for 25 to 35 minutes.
  • The artichoke is done when a leaf plucked from near the center comes off
  • easily. Drain the artichoke upside down.
  • With the exception of the hairy "choke" in the middle, the entire artichoke
  • is edible, although most of the leaf is tough and usually only the pasty
  • part of the inside of the leaf is eaten (scraped off with your teeth!). The
  • best part is the base of the artichoke, which has a mellow, sweet flavor.
  • Artichokes are traditionally served with a dip of some sort -- usually
  • melted butter, but mayonnaise or vinaigrette is equally delicious.
  • From: The Cook's Garden catalog - Spring/Summer 1993 (page 39)
  • From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

 Directions



Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

Title: How To Cook Basmati Rice
Categories: Digest, Sept., Text, Fatfree
Yield: 1 Servings

None

Somebody asked about cooking basmatti rice so it isn't sticky. I use a
method that results in perfect rice every time. I cook it in a non-stick
pot on the stove, not in a rice cooker:

First, be sure to rinse the rice with cold water until most of the starch
is removed and the water pours off pretty clear. Then, add enough water to
cover the rice and boil for about 7 minutes. Test the rice by biting into a
few grains...it should be firm, but not crunchy. Be sure not to over-cook
the rice at this stage (it's better to have it a little under-cooked).

Drain in a colander and rinse the rice with about 2-3 cups fresh water.

Put the rice back in the pot and steam with the lid on for 30-40 mins. over
low heat. The rice will develop a nice crunchy bottom that's delicious
(eat this first so it doesn't get soggy!)

I also have two variations that are great...these are classic Persian
dishes.

Cilantro / Green Onion Rice

After you drain the rice in the colander, add 1 bunch chopped cilantro and
1 bunch chopped green onions (Chop them into *small* pieces...I use the
food processor). Mix it all together and return to the pot to steam as
described above. (These proportions are for about 6 cups cooked rice.)

Dill / Lima Bean Rice

After you drain the rice in the colander, add 1 bunch chopped dill and 1
box frozen baby lima beans. Mix it all together and return to the pot to
steam as described above. (Again, this is for about 6 cups cooked rice.)

Hope you enjoy these! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .

1) Wash the rice. Especially true for just plain rice with glucose
coating. When I want sweet sticky rice, I buy sweet sticky rice. :-)

1A) Don't soak the rice. Wash, swirl the rice/water/gunk and pour out. If
it's still grungy, do it again. You don't want to get the kernels any
wetter than necessary.

2) Measure the water. The white basmati rice that I use (maybe a Lundberg
bag; can't remember) said to use 2-1/4 cups of water for every cup worth of
rice. This seems to be perfect for stovetop cooking, and pretty close for
my Hitachi cooker. (I think that the Hitachi would be happy with less
water, but I haven't cooked basmati in it recently.) Brown rices usually
use more (maybe 3X for the wonderful Luncberg Christmas rice, higher for
wild 'rice'), while white-bread rice is less (2X usually).

3A) I usually have better luck with a *heavy* glass/ceramic pan;
specifically, the bottom half of a Corning Visions double boiler. They
offer a similar pot as a 1.5(?) quart saucepan, but with a non-stick
coating. IMNHO, the high thermal mass of the Corning pot does a better job
at getting the heat spread out right.

For the corning, I get the rice/water boiling, cover, and turn down to the
lowest setting on my (gas) stove. I don't lift the lid until I'm pretty
sure the rice is done. The clear pot makes this easier.

3B) With the rice cooker, I accept a little bit of stickiness, but usually
the top half of the rice is pretty well OK.

For what it's worth, "steamed" rice is just boiled. Pete

the secret is, the basmati rice you use, and the way you cook it. To get
good basmati rice, visit a neayby Indian grocery store and pick the
"indian" basmati rice. A good mid-grade basmati rice is Laxshmi brand. It
comes in 10-15 pound bags and is about $10.00 for the bag. Basmati rice in
the regular grocery stores are much more expensive, and of a poorer quality
than what you get in an Indian store.

I always cook rice in a pan, so I can't say how you can cook them in the
rice cooker. Different qualities, and brands of rice need different amount
of water to cook. For Laxshmi brand you add 2 cups of water to one cup of
rice. Bring the water to hard boil on high heat. Cover the pan with a tight
lid, and let it simmer for about 10-12 minutes. At this point you will
notice that the rice have fluffed up, but they still have some water. Lift
the lid from one side to allow the steam to escape while you let it simmer
for another 3-5 minutes or till you feel the rice are sufficiently dry. Do
not stir while cooking. Another way to get that dry look in rice is to
leave them in the oven for a few minutes after they are cooked, this takes
the extra moisture out of them. If you choose a brand other than Laxshmi,
experiment on the amount of water they need, it can be half a cup less to
an extra half a cup in one cup of rice.

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