Move over brown....Purple's the new rice on the block!

      A few weeks ago, a good friend sent me a link about purple rice and it's nutritional benefits. Since she had to order it in (thanks Amazon!), she offered to share half of the package with me. Immediately, the foodie in me was designing up new cool recipes to showcase the rice.
    So here is the end result... and it YUMMY!

According to my internet research- Purple rice is also known as "Longevity" or Black rice. Purple rice is touted to have a high nutritional value--loaded with iron, Vitamin E, and antioxidants. It has as much fiber as brown rice, and shares the nutty taste. It is a glutinous rice, so that makes it a natural type of sticky rice. Plus it has such a COOL color! 

     So, armed with my baggie of shared purple rice, I set out to create. I think that taste is very much influenced by what the eyes see on the plate, and I wanted the sauce to pop with color. Last year I had the privilege to cook with a great Creole chef, and he had given me some fantastic spice blends when he left. I had played with them in the past, and out of the spice cabinet they came today.

    Here is the mise en place for this dish- and I only add this in because I love the look of all my ingredients out together. I had a few extra ingredients on the board that didn't make it into the dish, I tend to edit as I create.

Creole Shrimp and Roasted Red Peppers over Purple Rice

Ingredients: (serves three adults)

1 cup of purple/black rice

salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tbsp. butter (the real stuff, not margarine)

1/3 of a large onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 roasted red peppers in juice, drained and sliced in strips

1 pound raw shrimp, shelled and de-veined

About 2 tbsp. Creole shrimp seasoning

1 tsp dried dill spice

1/4 cup lemon juice

Shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Rinse the purple rice well, and place in pot with 2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.

2. About 10 minutes before the rice is done, add the oil and butter to a flat pan. Place over medium heat. 

3. Place the shrimp in a small bowl and sprinkle with the creole spices. Mix well.

4. Over medium heat, when the butter is melted, add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, do not brown!

5. Add the garlic and continue to saute for two more minutes.

6. Add in the red peppers, then the shrimp after a minute or two. Stir and cook the shrimp until they turn opaque and pink, but be careful not to overcook. (They become rubbery.) When the shrimp are about half cooked-- add in the lemon juice and the dill, continuing to stir. The sauce will thicken a bit.

7. When the shrimp are completely cooked, remove the sauce from the heat.

8. When the rice is done, add a nice rounded mound to the serving plate and spoon the shrimp sauce over the rice, garnish with Parmesan cheese, and a few grinds of the fresh salt and pepper. If you like a little more acidity, drizzle with a few drops of the lemon juice to brighten the flavor.

And there you go!

I teamed this dish with some steamed broccoli and it was very good. And, I have to say, I drizzled my broccoli with some aged Balsamic finishing vinegar... OMG. Some of the vinegar got into the rice- and the nutty richness was better than dessert!

So go- find some purple rice and show me what you can do with it on my blogging Facebook page

Hey.... and if you like- LIKE me too!

Well, now I have an urge to create more dishes featuring a dark purple starch- I see black squid ink pasta in my near future. I'll keep you posted!

As always,

Live Peacefully. Cook Fearlessly.

Chris