Black Rice with Green Veggies and Fish

Yesterday I cooked up this dish for my family. The black rice is a bit different to work with but is very tasty, I guess it has a bit more of a nutty flavor to it. The recipe for how to cook the black rice is slightly adapted from a cookbook by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen called “IT’S ALL GOOD”. Even after finding out I was Histamine Intolerant, I can still find inspiration in this cookbook, because a lot of the recipes are without nightshades, which basically means a lot of recipes without tomato. So with minor adaption a lot of the recipes are still useful to me, which is very nice 🙂 Because let’s face it it can be rather tiring scrolling through cookbooks these days.

When I make this dish with the black rice, I vary the side dishes quite a lot. I often make it with a simple beet salad and peas added to the rice, which the kids love. But this version with the greens and the fish is a very good combination. For this recipe I used peas, leek, shallots and kale (frozen, because that’s what I had in the house ;)). If kale isn’t in season and you are not a fan of frozen kale, just replace it with another tolerated leafy green like swiss chard, collard greens, chinese cabbage or bok choy. The leek (and the shallots) is a problem for some people with Histamine Intolerance, So if this is true for you, another great combo is white onion, courgette, radishes, and a leafy green of your choice.

You start by boiling the black rice, which takes quite a long time so make sure you have enough time for this step. The rise is boiled in coconut water, which gives it a bit of sweetness in the end. According to Gwyneth Paltrow this step should take 1 hour. However I find that the rice still has a bit too much bite after only one hour of cooking. So I often end up giving mine between 75 and 90 minutes. But I guess this strongly depends on the rice, so you just have to try and see/follow the instructions on the package. If you are not in the mood to handle this long of a cooking time, you can just use another type of rice with a shorter cooking time. Add the peas to the rice during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Once the rice is done add in green herbs of your choice. This time i used a bit of mint, basil and some chives, but honestly I use whatever I have in the kitchen or in my garden at the time of cooking. At this stage you can also add a little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, if tolerated. I find I’m able to tolerate small amounts of both, if I just make sure to not eat it on a daily basis. Remember everybody is different and you have to do what works for you.

While the Rice is cooking away prepare your veggies. Cut the shallots and the leek as finely as you like, and add them to a pan with a little bit of oil. Once they start to get clear and slightly brown, add in the kale or other leafy greens, continue heating until the leafy green has gone soft. If you are using frozen kale like me, you just have to wait for it to thaw in the pan and mix well with the rest of the veggies 😉

Remove the veggies from the pan and melt a bit of butter together with some oil on the same pan and fry the fish well on both sides. I normally fry my fish from frozen, i tend to tolerate that better, than if I let it thaw first. I used codfish for this recipe. Enjoy 🙂

Black Rice with Green Veggies and Fish

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

1 hour 40 mins

 

Author: Tania Surrow Larsen, The Histamine Friendly Kitchen

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 150 g black rice
• 700 ml coconut water
• a pinch of sea salt
• 250 g frozen peas
• 10-20 g finely chopped fresh herbs (mint, basil, and chives)
• A little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (optional)
• 2 shallots
• 1 leek
• 100-150 g frozen kale
• 2 cod filets
• 2 tsps coconut oil
• 1 tsp butter

Instructions

1. Boil the black rice with the coconut water and a pinch of sea salt, keep the lid on the pot. This should take between 1-1½h.
2. While the rice is cooking away, cut the shallots and the leek as finely as you like, and add them to a frying pan with one tsp of coconut oil.
3. Once they start to get clear and slightly brown, add in the kale or other leafy greens, continue heating until the leafy green has gone soft. If you are using frozen kale like me, you just have to wait for it to thaw in the pan and mix well with the rest of the veggies. Season with a bit of sea salt.
4. Remove the veggies from the pan and melt a tsp of butter together with a tsp of coconut oil on the same pan and fry the fish well on both sides.
5. Add the frozen peas to the rice the last 5-10 minutes of the cooking time.
6. If theres still liquid left, when the rice and peas are done, just take off the lid and keep stirring over medium heat till the liquid has evaporated. Add the finely chopped green herbs.
7. At this stage you can add a bit of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the rice - optional.
8. Serve up and enjoy. The nutritional data below is based on 1 of 2 servings.

3.5.3226