Randomness is the mother of Deliciousness

My vegan, zucchini-hating fella was out having dinner with his filmmaking partner, so it was all about the zook and cheese at our house tonight. And there were some bits and bobs of leftovers that needed to be used, so it all went into the pan.

Hey, this is my first recipe for this new blog, yes? So I think I should admit that I'm a pretty chaotic cook sometimes. I add, substitute, alter ingredients. I make stuff up. I'm trying to keep better records of my own invented recipes, though, cause I'm going to be writing them up here.

Also, not only do I come from a pretty intense family tradition of French and Ashkenazi home cooks, I'm also a former line cook and a (half) trained pastry chef. So the randomness isn't coming from nowhere; I do actually know what I'm doing. I'm just a bit of a kitchen riffer.



East Meets West Rice Casserole

1 clove of garlic, diced
half an onion, diced
a couple of tbsps of olive oil
about half a package of paneer cheese, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 can of white kidney beans
2 cups of cooked rice
oregano, basil
about a quarter cup of parmesan, or maybe more

In a nice, hot, deep cast-iron skillet, saute the onion and garlic together til they're transparent. Add the paneer, mix it all around the pan. When the paneer cubes are a little browned on most of their sides, add some salt and pepper, then the zuchini. Deglaze the pan with a little white wine or soy sauce. Stir in the beans and rice. When these are warmed through, stir in as much oregano and basil as you like, as well as about half of the parmesan. Top the casserole with the rest of the parm, and slip it under a high broil for a few minutes, just til the cheese on top is a little toasty.


My in-house reviewer was all "Chee! Bean! Um-Um-Um! Moremore!" It was pretty swell, yo.