Arborio Rice & Chickpea Cream

Rice Ingredients (Serves 4)

- wholemeal Arborio rice (4 handfuls / person)
- salt
- olive oil
- fresh parsley

Procedure:

Cook the rice as per the instructions on the box. When the rice is ready, let it rest for five minutes by covering the pot with a lid, and then add the olive and fresh parsley leaves, which you will have previously washed and prepared.

THE ART OF COOKING RICE
Never mix the rice when it’s cooking: the cooked grains will automatically rise to the top when they are ready, allowing the less cooked ones to go to the bottom. Interfering in this process by mixing the rice will actually spoil its very autonomous and intelligent cooking procedure!
Never drain rice: do wash it before cooking by rinsing it a few times in a sieve. Put the exact amount of water needed for cooking, and let the rice absorb this water. Should the rice require more water, boil some water separately and add that water to the pot (never add cold water). It does take some practice to get the right amount of water first off, but you will get it eventually!


Chickpea Cream Ingredients (Serves 4)

- 200g chickpea flakes (you can find them in health-food stores and some specialized super-markets)
- 3 ripe tomatoes
- ½ a leek
- a chunk of fresh ginger
- chilly
- herbal salt
- olive oil
- juice of half a lemon


Procedure:

Chop up the leek as well as the fresh tomatoes. Heat some olive oil in a pot, and then add the leek to stir fry slightly. Then add the tomatoes, the chick-peak flakes, and cover with water. When the water starts to boil, add the herbal salt, chilly, and the ginger. The chickpea flakes only take about 15 minutes to cook, so when they look nice and soft, process all the ingredients with a hand-held food blender until it has reached a creamy consistency. If it seems too runny to you, you can keep it cooking until the excess water evaporates; if, on the other hand, it seems too thick, you can add some boiling hot water until it reaches the desired consistency.

For a tangy swing, drizzle some fresh lemon juice on your chickpea cream once you’ve served it on the plate. Lemon juice, and hence Vitamin C, is an essential element in iron absorption, so it’s especially important to combine it (in whatever form you should choose) with your legume dishes.