After eating the spectacular Southern barbecue feast as featured in this post here, I felt a hankering for more of the same (or fairly similar). One of the star dishes of Latin American or Caribbean cooking for me is rice and beans, different from the Cajun 'dirty rice' which is made traditionally with chicken livers and so would never pass my lips. If the lowering of carbohydrates is something you occasionally care about, (like me), then rice is the single most forbidden food and extremely difficult to substitute. The only viable alternative that has ever been offered is cauliflower 'rice' which is made by grating the vegetable into small pieces to be squeezed dry and fried. It's not exactly the same, but the texture and appearance is good enough to allow yourself to be slightly fooled.
Of course the beans also are off limits and so a tin of black soy beans is the only alternative. They are acceptable, but lack the sweet meatiness of say, red kidney beans and tend to have a slightly chalky interior. However, one new find beat all second rate alternatives to the ground and proved to elevate the dish back to it's rightful place.....
.....Microwaveable pork rinds. Many times I have read of using crispy pork crackling as an alternative to breading. It always seemed like a great idea, but where could I get some? As usual, the Internet provided. A revolution in snacking for low carb dieters, (no, I'm not endorsing the product), they crisp in the microwave like popcorn and are crunchy, salty and subtly pork-y. I wish I could offer some recipes using the rinds as breading or crispy au gratin topping, but I ate them all far too quickly, my addictive tendencies for crackling and crispiness overwhelming me. Next time...
When I was a child and even until recently, radishes were only red and mostly ignored by me. Discovering the variety of colours available from the merest blush of baby pink to the deepest purple has tempted me to buy, cook and appreciate them in ways I never thought possible. Pickled with carrot, mushroom and onion, they provide a sweet and sour tang to accompany steak, roasted they mellow and become slightly bitter in an interesting way and chopped, they can be thrown into any dish, whether stir fried, raw or sauteed. For this dish, I used them mainly for some colour, but also to add a little crunch and that peppery flavour they are best known for.
Looks like rice. Tastes like cauliflower, albeit slightly nutty and toasty. The biggest mistake you can make with this is to not squeeze and drain as much water out as possible, as cauliflower retains a lot of moisture. The result would be a soggy mess that would look more like baby food than fluffy Basmati. It's all about the flavourings you add, which must be fairly aggressive.
The pork rinds, puffed up to perfection.
Rice and beans is not really complete in my book without roast pork shoulder. I'm not going to bore you with yet another tale of how it falls apart after cooking for 6 hours and fills the apartment with a mouth-watering aroma. I'm just going to say that I tried to give this piece a little Caribbean vibe and so added some Jerk seasoning to the juices and vegetables that the pork had sat on. It worked well, the spicy edge giving the sauce a little ohh la la.
Recipe : Cauliflower 'rice' and beans (low carbohydrate version)
'Rice' recipe adapted from The Low Carb Gourmet by Karen Barnaby
1/2 cauliflower
1 tbsp oil
4 scallions, sliced finely
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 radishes, finely sliced
2 pickles (anything from a jar will do, I used some pickled garlic flowers, you could use some onions or gherkins) (optional - but they add a little tang and a sour edge)
1/2 tin of beans (I used black soy beans because of their low carb count, you could use anything if you're not watching carbs).
3/4 tsp salt
A few grinds of fresh black pepper
A handful of pork rinds (optional)
Grate the cauliflower onto a clean tea towel using the coarse part of a grater.
Gather the tea towel around the cauliflower to encase it inside and squeeze out as much water as you can. This step is very important to ensure you can fry the cauliflower correctly.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the scallions, garlic and radishes. Stir fry together until fragrant and softened slightly. Add the cauliflower and fry until it is beginning to colour a little and soften.
Add the beans, pickles, salt and pepper and stir well. Serve with the pork rinds on top, whole or lightly crushed.
In her book, Karen suggests this can be taken in many directions. With a little sesame oil and some fried onion, it would make a good accompaniment to Chinese food. With a little curry powder, turmeric, garam masala or cilantro it could provide a bed for a curry to lay on.
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