Minimizing My Pantry: Grains and Pasta

Pasta in my pantry.

In this blog I'm describing a minimalist approach to my pantry regarding grains and pasta.

Grains in my pantry.

When it comes to grains I am pretty much right on.  I have a mixture of brown rice and basmati, arborio (for risotto), and bulghur wheat. Arborio is a high-starch, short-grained rice used for making risotto. Cooking arborio releases its starch, giving risotto its creamy consistency.  About the only time I would use white rice is if I were making rice pudding which I rarely do.  Missing was quinoa which I usually have on hand, so I've added that to my grocery list.

Adding quinoa to my grocery list.

But I have way too much pasta.  Lasagna, spaghetti (a whole wheat and a black bean spaghetti that I've never tried---and I know not why we have it. It must have been a spur of the moment purchase.), manicotti, orzo (2 packages both opened), ziti, pipette, and cannelloni.  I seem to be missing couscous, and I use that a lot. I suppose I used my last box and didn't replace it. 

After these are used I will pare down to spaghetti (whole wheat), orzo, lasagna, and perhaps one small elbow type pasta. Orzo is pasta in the shape of rice and it is one of our favorite pastas.  It's especially nice to add to soups.  And sometimes I will replace the lasagna with manicotti. Pasta is a nice comfort food and can be prepared quickly with any number of sauces (such as Nello's tomato sauce) for a quick meal.

Adding couscous to my grocery list.

I'll be sure to add couscous to my pasta shelf.  If you've never tried couscous here's a recipe for you. It's from The Barefoot Contessa.  Easy to make and makes a delicious side dish.  

The Barefoot Contessa's Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Strawberry rhubarb crisp with ice cream.

It's the peak of strawberry season here in Wake County, and the other day when I was in the Harris-Teeter grocery I noticed they had fresh rhubarb.  With the rhubarb in hand and with lots of fresh local strawberries from the Farmer's Market, I was ready to make a strawberry rhubarb crisp.  I've tried lots of recipes for this, one of my favorite desserts,  all of them good, but I decided to look for a new recipe to try.  I ran across one from The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, on the internet.  I have two of Garten's recipe books, and there has never been one of her recipes that I've tried that I didn't like.  And this was no exception. 

I'm a fan of the Barefoot Contessa and have two of her cookbooks.  Such good recipes.

Her recipe adds a bit of fresh orange juice and orange zest and the subtle orange flavor enhances the strawberry/rhubarb flavors. 

Orange juice and orange zest adds a twist to this recipe.

 

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh rhubarb, 1-inch diced (4 to 5 stalks)
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, if large
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch (see note)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oatmeal, such as McCann's
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the fruit, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and the orange zest together in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 11-inch baking dish and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

For the topping, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, salt, and oatmeal. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

Strawberry-rhubarb mixture ready for topping.

Add topping and ready for oven.

Out of the oven, browned and nice and bubbly.

Ready to eat.

Even better with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

This is going to be my "go to recipe" for strawberry rhubarb crisp.