How Long Have the French Been Cooking Rice, Anyway?

Chef Afreen (that's her first name) is "shadowing" Chef Vinita this session: Contemporary Cuisine is in need of another instructor, so she's getting the lay of the land. She's been teaching at the CCA for a while, Banquets and Catering. An elegant Pakistani woman, she's in the traditional chef garb and subversively bejeweled with bangle bracelets on both wrists, earrings, a small diamond stud high on one side of her nose, and an elaborate silver bracelet encircling one black-sock-covered ankle. She arrived this morning after lecture (allergens and food intolerances) and our fresh air break, and strolled the room, stopping to ask us each what we were preparing. My assignment for today was rice pilaf, and I intended to vary the Cordon Bleu recipe a bit: by substituting olive oil for butter, and vegetable stock for chicken, and by adding some sautéed mushrooms and some fresh peas. Chef Afreen began her indocrination slowly, by suggesting that I caramelize the diced onions first, then add the mushrooms and some "woody spices."

As the morning progressed, I received more than advice. I learned the "correct" manner in which to make rice pilaf, a methodology which can be traced back dozens of centuries. (Rice cultivation in Mesopotamia is thought to have begun in the 5th century, BC.) As the onions were caramelizing (in a generous amount of olive oil) in a large sauté pan, Chef Afreen showed me how to wash the rice. We substituted basmati for long-grain ("Why not use the best?"), and she measured it into a bowl, then covered it with cool water. She gently used both her hands to scoop the rice and let it fall off her fingers. "For us in the kitchen at home, the washing of the rice is spiritual." She poured off the water and replaced it with clean, rinsing it a total of three times. Then the water was drained from the rice which was set aside to dry somewhat, as the rest of the cooking progressed.

To the olive oil and onions, I added a whole bay leaf, a cinnamon stick, and a few peppercorns. I would have added some cracked white cardamom pods, but we don't have them in the kitchen. (Chef Afreen harrumphed at this, and immediately added them to the requisition list.) As the spices warmed up, their scents infusing the kitchen, I added the sliced mushrooms and stirred everything together.

While I was working on pilaf, Chef Afreen was focusing, mostly, on strawberry crepes, which she cooked in the adjacent kitchen. (We received a flat of strawberries in this morning's delivery, so in addition to her dessert, we had strawberry/soy smoothies. Soy milk is teetering dangerously close to tofu, for me, but they were delicious and refreshing.) When she presented the crepes during our buffet, drizzled with caramel/citrus sauce and topped with a bit of sweetened yogurt, she said, "I needed some therapy this morning. I made crepes."

After the mushrooms were well browned, I added the water (twice the amount of measured rice), and deglazed the pan. Then I removed the pan from the heat until about 20 minutes before serving time. Chef Afreen said that the flavors will steep together, creating a flavorful "stock" in which to cook the rice. I asked about the whole spices, and she said, "The 'Cordon Bleu' way is to remove them, but we leave them in." It's a gesture of respect and generosity towards your guests.

When the time came to finish the rice, I brought the liquid to a boil, stirred in the rice and the peas, and cooked it on the stove at medium high heat, uncovered. When holes had developed on the surface of the rice, and there was only a bit of liquid left, I covered the rice with a towel (to absorb the remaining moisture), then covered the whole pan with foil (lacking the correctly-sized lid.) About fifteen minutes after I added the rice to the liquid, it was finished. I served it as the Chef advised, spread out on a big tray. With the golden pieces of onion and the bright peas, the chunks of mushroom and the spices, the dish looked almost extravagant. And it was perfectly cooked, each grain separate and moist.

We're not going hungry in this class, no, not us. In addition to the rice, crepes, and beverage, we feasted on green salad (with low-fat viniagrette), cream of celery soup (lactose-free), lentil salad, chickpeas with spicy sauce, spinach sautéed with garlic, pork tenderloin two ways, fresh linguini with vegetables, and pasta puttanesca, made with rice pasta (gluten free). Chef Vinita puts a high emphasis on presentation, so everything was beautifully displayed and really delicious.

As I left class today, I thanked Chef Afreen for her attention. I feel like I've been handed a bag of secrets. "Bah," she said. "What do the French know about cooking rice? You should learn from someone who can do it properly."