Posted: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 7:00 pm
“Potluck” is one of those funny words. To some it’s a dicey proposition; “to take potluck” is to take your chances. And the likelihood is just as great you’ll end up with something undesirable as good.
But get together a bunch of folks interested in food, and “potluck” signifies a positive possibility. Here’s the chance to try lots of different dishes, so “taking potluck” is the omnivore’s delight. Cooks will usually bring their tried- and-true, so there’s a good chance that most everything on the table will be some kind of wonderful. And the risk-takers in the bunch may bring something new they’re working on, knowing they’ll get plenty of feedback from lots of different tasters.
No potluck proponent could resist the recent invitation to a wild game dinner with guests bringing appetizers, side dishes and desserts. What a feast! Pheasant hunter Gary supplied the elegant main course, but there was also Pete's pheasant pate and Animal Science Don’s venison sausages. And the choices on the side! Superb salads combining beets, walnuts and goat cheese, or romaine, Parmesan and edamame, to name a few. And at a potluck, you don’t have to choose between rhubarb custard pie and cherry crisp for dessert. You can have ’em both, plus plenty more.
But the best part of the potluck for this humble contributor was the generous response to a dish that was an experiment. With wild game as the background piece, I wanted to come up with something that was mildly mysterious and slightly exotic. And something that would use fruit and herbs, both famous foils for game. Black rice — also marketed as “forbidden rice” — provided the unusual quotient. Dressed with a lavender-blueberry sauce and spiked with fresh strawberries, the black rice was dark, elegant and definitely distinctive.
Although the rice may be called forbidden, it’s in fact nutritionally correct. It’s the rice hull that gives black rice its purple-black sheen, so when you eat it, you’re getting whole grain goodness. Add the berries for the antioxidant properties and low calories that put them high on many “foods you should eat for health” lists and the indescribable flavor of lavender, and you’ve got it all. Intriguing, unusual, healthy and, most important, tasty!
Note on ingredients: Black rice is available locally in some supermarkets and Asian groceries or via vendors online. Dried lavender can be had at food coops, health food stores and farmers markets. And this weekend you can learn to grow your own at Pioneers Park Nature Center’s Herb Festival.
Black Rice with Berries and Lavender
2 cups Chinese black rice (marketed as Forbidden Rice)
3½ cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium shallot finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2½ teaspoon chopped fresh lavender (or 1¼ dried lavender)
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pint fresh strawberries, chopped
Fresh blueberries and strawberries for garnish
Bring rice, water and pinch of salt to a quick boil, cover and lower heat to a simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil and saute shallots over medium heat until fragrant (2-3 minutes). Add wine and lavender, increase heat and simmer until reduced by half (about 5 minutes). Stir in sugar, berries, balsamic vinegar and simmer 2 minutes. Add butter, swirl to incorporate. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. After 30 minutes, check rice. If not all water is absorbed, let cook a couple of minutes more. (Cooked rice will have a chewy texture.) Let rice sit while cutting up fresh berries. Put about three cups of rice in a bowl. (Reserve remainder for another use.) Add blueberry lavender sauce, stirring to coat rice. Mix in about half the strawberries. Top with fresh blueberries and strawberries. Serve at room temperature.
Lynne Ireland lives to eat and welcomes comments and questions from others who do (or don’t). Contact her at savor@journalstar.com.