I’ve been lucky to be exposed to Caribbean food through friends back home in the US (specifically amazing dishes from the Dominican Republic), and it reminds me of home when I get the chance to recreate some of it, and use the same flavors and ingredients.

While a lot of Caribbean food has meat, there are some amazing side dishes that don’t, and you can easily turn a humble side dish into the main star. This time, I’m going to share one of my favorite comforting rice dishes – it’s really easy, and you can bump up the complexity with just 5 extra minutes of time, by starting the coconut milk off with a few bonus flavors.

You might have already guessed from the photos and the title, but this not-so-mystery dish is Jamaican coconut rice with black beans. You could also make it with kidney beans or pigeon peas (the traditional Jamaican way) but I had black beans in the cupboard, and I really like them, so in they went.

With a few cupboard staples, you can pull this together about 20 minutes. It’s rich and savory, comforting and exotic, versatile and unmistakable. You can serve it alongside spicy baked chicken, or make it into a vegetarian meal with some spiced up sauteed peppers and onions, and maybe a salad, on the side.

Thanks to Grace Foods for providing the rich, silky coconut milk and the super flavorful and heavenly-smelling hot curry powder in a great basket of treats to celebrate Caribbean Food Week. I also used Grace black beans, but they just happened to be in my cupboard, because they have a great texture and are a great price. The recipe, and the feelings about what I’ve made and used, are entirely my own.

Serves: 4
Time: 5 minutes preparation, 20 minutes cooking

On the Counter

200 g (1 cup) dried white, long grain rice
1 400 mL (14 oz) can of Dunns River coconut milk
1 400 mL (14 oz) can of Dunns River black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large clove garlic, chopped finely
1/2 tbsp Dunns River Jamaican Hot Curry Powder
1 dried bay leaf
2 tsp coarsely ground salt (or kosher salt)

What to Do

Combine the coconut milk, garlic, hot curry powder and bay leaf in a medium sauce pan, and simmer it on very low heat for at least 5 minutes. It shouldn’t get anywhere near boiling.

Give the rice one quick rinse and drain, and then add it to the coconut milk. The rice should be 1/2 the volume of the coconut milk. Add in a little more water if you think it needs it. I use the can, so I can make sure to get all the coconut into the pot. Stir in the salt.

Cook the rice in the coconut milk, covered, on medium/low heat for between 10 and 12 minutes, testing it. You can stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. When the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice is still very slightly chewy, stir in the rinsed and drained black beans. Heat it all up for about 5 more minutes, until some of the black bean-ness incorporates with the rice, and everything is hot.

And that’s it! Spoon it onto the plate or into a big bowl for family-style sharing.

Join me in sharing the Caribbean Food Week fun on Twitter and Facebook.

Informal poll time: How often do you have leftover plain cooked rice hanging around?

If you’re me, the answer is “not very often”. I have gone as far as making too much rice and trying to save some for the next day, but really, that requires more forethought than I usually have. But sometimes, the craving for fried rice is just too strong.

When you don’t have leftover rice to hand, you can always just cook some up, and then … wait for it… spread it out on an oven tray and let it dry out and cool off for about 30 minutes. You could also put it in the oven on low heat for 10 minutes to dry it out.

I love a big, steamy bowl of rice with a little bit of garlicky sriracha and salty soy sauce, and maybe something else on the side.

I wrote this for the veggies I had, but you can use these or change some up, you could always add some carrots, broccoli or kale. You can also use white rice or brown rice – whatever you’re in the mood for.

On the Counter

Serves: 4

475 g (3 cups) cooked day-old or dried rice
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
6 small radishes, sliced
2 eggs
3 scallions / spring onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
250 g (8 oz) button or chestnut mushrooms (or shiitake if you have them)
srirarcha hot sauce for drizzling

What to Do

Heat the sesame oil in a wok or wide-bottomed sautee pan until it shimmers. Add in the garlic and mushrooms, and fry, stirring frequently, until mushrooms begin to soften.

Stir in the rice and fry for a minute, then make a well in the center of the rice.

Crack the eggs into the center, and start mixing the rice into the egg until the egg is mixed in.

Add in the peas, soy sauce and radishes, and cook for another 5 minute, stirring frequently, until the peas are hot.

Serve up your egg-fried rice, top it with scallions / spring onions and squirt on the sriracha.

I haven’t made this in a while. The gentleman had expressed his reservations about the delicious qualities of cheesy rice casserole, and it took me a long time to get him to try it.

Maybe you, too, are hesitant about the concept of rice and cheese. But let me just remind you, that burritos, those lovely parcels of many good things in an easy-to-carry, edible envelope, are pretty much cheese, rice, and other things. Burritos – the gateway to cheesy rice casserole?

Back to the topic on hand. Eventually, and finally, he relented, willing to give it a chance.

He’s a big fan now.

If you’ve never tried cheesy rice, and you enjoy things like cheese, rice and vegetables (plus sausage if you’re into that sort of thing), then you should make your own cheesy rice casserole.

You can up- or downsize this recipe, so it’s great for an easy dinner (and lunch) or something to whip up for a dinner with friends.  Plus — cheesy rice. What’s not to love about that?

It’s more than a one-pot meal, and does require both the stovetop and the oven, but considering how much you can make and the leftovers potential, it’s worth the trouble.

And you can get lots of vegetables in, you can try a reasonable variety without it feeling like you’re forcing veg into the meal.

Serves: 4

On the Counter
1.5 cups (300g) white rice [75g portion]
1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium zucchini (courgette), chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup (50g) broccoli stems (optional)
1 green chile, (such as jalapeno or serrano), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
3.5 oz (100 g) smoked cheddar (or strong cheddar), grated

What to Do

Rinse rice, pour into pot and shake it until it’s at an even level. Add a “knuckle’s worth” of water to the pot and a teaspoon of salt.

Bring rice to a boil, then cover and lower heat to a bare simmer. Leave the rice for 10 minutes, and taste it for doneness. Note, use a pot with a tight-fitting lid, with no gaps. (No spouts, no using a lid that’s too big for the pot.)

Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the olive oil to a shimmer. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant. Add red pepper, sauté for 5 minutes, then add zucchini. Cook until softened, but not entirely soft.

Preheat the oven to 350F (176 C).

Once the rice and the vegetables are done, combine them in a 2-quart (2 litre) shallow baking dish. Stir in grated cheese, paprika, parsley, salt and pepper. Ensure that everything is well-integrated. Bake for 30 minutes, until top starts to turn golden.

Cheesy rice casserole has officially entered into the dinner rotation. MKC wins this round.

“Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?”

This recipe sang to me as I browsed through my library of links.

The gentleman and I made it into the kitchen with a lovely set of Manila clams, direct from Poole, via our favorite fishmonger.

These clams needed something special – a clay statue in their honor, if you will.

And so when this recipe sang to me, I knew it had to be.

We served our clams with some jasmine rice, but they can definitely be eaten quite happily on their own. You can also make your own Thai green curry paste, but in this case, store bought was the way to go. (If you’re gluten-free, it’s worth making your own with gluten-free fish sauce.)

Adapted from spoon fork bacon

Serves 2 without rice, 4 with rice

On the Counter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons green curry paste
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
10 grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 mL) clam juice or fish stock
1 cup (250 mL) coconut milk
1 lb. (500 g) manila clams, scrubbed clean
salt and pepper to taste
garnish:
lime zest
red chili pepper, thinly sliced, seeds removed
lime wedges (1 per person)

What to Do

Heat oil a skillet over medium-high heat.

Add curry paste, shallot, garlic and ginger and sauté for about 2 minutes.

Then add the tomatoes, lime juice and sugar. Sauté for 2 to 3 more minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Stir in clam juice/stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil.

As soon as the liquid comes to a boil, add clams and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the clams have opened widely.

Serve alone or on top of rice. Top with lime zest and sliced pepper, with lime wedges on the side. 

Kimchi fried rice served with soy-glazed salmon.

One of my favorite eating spots in London is a small, practically hidden Korean restaurant near Tottenham Court Road. It’s tiny, cheap and so tasty. And, across the street is a Korean supermarket that sells all sorts of awesome imported Korean goods. My friend Soyoung always stops there when she’s in the area, and this time I was with her.

Knowing that the gentleman likes kimchi, I couldn’t resist getting a package for £3. And then using pretty much all of it within 2 days. For the uninitiated, kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish. (Sounds gross, I know.) But even for someone who doesn’t really like cabbage (me), it tastes good. It’s garlicky, a little spicy, and a bit shrimpy.

This recipe is inspired by the little Korean restaurant near TCR and Soyoung, for introducing me to that great supermarket and lots of good Korean places around town.

Serves: 4

On The Counter: 

1.5 cups (265g) cooked rice, at room temperature, preferably 1 day old. 
1 cup (175g) kimchi, chopped
2 eggs
2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable or sesame oil
1 scallion (spring onion) chopped
soy sauce to taste

What To Do:  

Heat oil in a wok or sauté pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant. 

Add chopped kimchi to oil, stir and fry for 3-4 minutes, until kimchi is hot and sizzling.

Stir in rice, breaking up any clumps. Mix to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, until well incorporated and just turning crispy. Add soy sauce if desired. 

Crack eggs on top of rice and mix into the rice. Keep stirring until the eggs are well incorporated and cooked through, about 4 minutes. 

Top with chopped scallion greens and serve! 

One day I might try to make my own kimchi, but for now, I’m going to stick with the good stuff, direct from Korea.

A few months ago, I went to a social media week event here in London about food. It was a great event, I met some interesting people, had thought-provoking conversations and ate free burritos.

The best presenters, in my mind, were the funny, interesting and passionate people behind Great British Chefs, an all-encompassing food site, to say the least.

I started following them via my newly-created blog twitter and a while later, along came this mushroom risotto recipe.

It is good. Very good. It’s thick with mushroom flavor, hearty and autumnal. I’m definitely into the autumn foods right now.

If you like mushrooms, this is the risotto for you. You can tone down some of the intense mushroom flavor by using milder mushrooms, or just picking one variety. You could also mix up the proportions of mushrooms. I, however, am on a fresh shiitake kick, so they were very welcome to the party. And on sale.

And try not to be intimidated by the stirring required for risotto. Put a good TV show on your laptop or tablet and get stirring. (I watched Castle this time.)

Adapted from Great British Chefs

Serves: 4

On The Counter:

5 tbsp (75g) butter
10 oz (300g) of assorted fresh mushrooms, cut in similar-sized pieces (shiitake, oyster, chestnut, for example)
1 small shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
10 oz (300g) of Arborio risotto rice
1/2 cup (120ml) of white wine
3 cups (700ml) of vegetable stock, plus more if needed
2 tbsp (40g) of grated Parmesan
olive oil
salt
black pepper

What to Do:

Melt half the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, season lightly with salt. Sautee until light brown and soft. Add shallots and garlic and cook until soft, but not brown. (About 30 seconds to 1 minute.)

Stir in the rice and turn up the heat to medium-high. Keep stirring and cook until transparent, about a minute. Pour in the wine and continue stirring.

Add the stock, one ladle-full at a time. Stir constantly, nearly all the wine is absorbed and the rice is creamy and cooked through. This takes about 15 minutes. If the rice is undercooked, add water and continue.

Season with a little more salt and fresh pepper. Add the remaining butter and the Parmesan cheese, and stir until well combined. Serve.