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So here's what happened. I cook a lot of Indian food from day to day and I was all set to do an as-authentic-as-possible bowl of mixed rice with a small selection of curries and dals and maybe a bit of pickle to round it out. Come the weekend I was going to tackle this, and I find my ladyfriend is making pizza and has bought a veritable heap of Italian ingredients we couldn't have hoped to go through in one day. Well there's no sense in wasting. Post pizza, I looked through the Italian pile and my cupboards and here's what I found. Can of chickpeas, a smattering of dried cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, leftover basil and garlic, olive oil, grana padano, and orzo pasta. Well, it looks like rice. Let's make a quick pasta salad!  Cooking the orzo takes about 10-15 minutes, more than enough time to prep the rest of your ingredients. So get that going first and then:  Rehydrate those tomatoes!  Wash that basil and pluck it into pieces!  Chop yo' garlic! Slices are fine, no need to mince it.  Grab a pan and set the pine nuts over medium-high heat, and keep a close eye on them. Toss frequently so they roast evenly.  This is about right. Transfer them into a bowl, add a splash of oil to the pan and fry the garlic slices very briefly until they just about take on a golden color. I had the pan too hot and it took mere seconds, not even enough time to get the camera for that step. If I'd minced it I'd have had a pile of garlicky ash.  Bit too dark, really. Although I do like crispy fried garlic.  Finished orzo pasta I MEAN RICE. The actual mixing is visually unexciting. Drain the tomatoes and chickpeas, grate as much grana padano as you'd like, and go for it. Add a good splash of olive oil as well as salt and pepper to taste, and you get something a little like this:  This did serve us as a full meal (along with the mixed salad barely visible on the left, which I can't take credit for). I'd say "would make again" but really as improvised as the whole affair was, I knew from the start I would. I did learn that chickpeas work really surprisingly well in this sort of thing!
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May 16, 2014 09:12
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| # ? May 6, 2024 18:48 |
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That looks simple, filling, and absolutely delicious. Great job!
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May 16, 2014 14:50
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That looks positively stunning. I'm also glad that you managed a pasta salad without the dreaded mayonnaise. Well played!
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May 16, 2014 15:32
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