Lately, I prefer to prepare unique dishes that are complete, tasty, and also nice to look at. This way, I can combine different foods with different nutritional characteristics that complement each other. I am not a nutritionist, of course, and the food combinations I propose reflect my tastes, with the ultimate goal that these suggestions are substantial but not heavy, without too many added fats, unless absolutely necessary and always of plant origin. There is really room to get creative with the ingredients and imagination. Today I propose a vegetarian bowl, gluten and lactose-free, with basmati rice (which I really like), hard-boiled eggs, and raw red cabbage, to which I added other ingredients to my taste. To minimize salt and fat intake, I seasoned the preparation with “Dukkah”, a very easy-to-make preparation at home in 15 minutes and very tasty, made of nuts and various spices, which, in addition to flavoring, enrich the recipe with other very important nutrients.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 cup water (for cooking rice)
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 20 green olives
- 7 oz raw red cabbage
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste fine salt
- to taste spices of choice
- 2 carrots
Steps
For cooking basmati rice, follow this method: for every 100 grams of rice, you need 150 milliliters of boiling water or broth.
The ingredient quantities per person are:
-about 3.5 oz of cooked rice, one hard-boiled egg, 1.75 oz of raw cabbage, half a carrot, 5 olives, and seasoning and spices to taste.;
Slice the red cabbage and carrots very thinly; wash them and let them drain very well. Since carrots tend to oxidize and turn black, we can slice and wash them just before seasoning and serving the bowl, or after washing, we can sprinkle them with a few drops of vinegar or lemon.
In a pot, heat the water for the rice (it’s crucial to respect the indicated amount of water to ensure optimal absorption cooking of the rice). When it starts boiling, salt it, let it return to a boil, and then add the rice without touching or stirring it. Immediately cover the pot and let it boil for two minutes over high heat; after two minutes, lower the heat to the minimum and let it cook for 10 minutes without ever opening the lid; at the end of cooking, we will get about 15 oz of cooked rice.
Finally, turn off the heat, wait a couple of minutes, and fluff it with a fork, just like you do with couscous. Transfer it to a large bowl to cool it down more quickly.
While the rice is cooking, boil the eggs. When they are lukewarm, peel them and let them cool before slicing.
In the meantime, pit the olives and cut them into rings or however is most convenient for us.
This dish can be served either warm or cold, depending on the seasons and preferences.
As for the spices, I used dukkah, a mix of nuts and spices that is very easy and quick, perfect for flavoring without added fats; of course, the rice bowl with hard-boiled eggs and red cabbage can be flavored with whatever spices we like best, such as basil, parsley, celery, curry, and so on.
Season and spice each portion according to taste.
Enjoy your meal
