Pink....not just for princesses anymore

I mentioned in an earlier post that having a Whole Foods store in Wilmington means new ingredients never before available in this part of North Carolina are now mine for the trying. I am probably not the typical customer for this store though, because I want to shop there for the variety of ingredients offered, not because something is organic or fits into a vegan diet. 

One part of the store that fascinates me is the wall o' grains. When I was in college, the cafeterias had large plastic dispensers of cereal so we could help ourselves a bowl at a time. The wall o' grains uses the same mechanism. Grab a bag and fill it up with whatever rice or nut you want to try. They also have bins and scoops, but those aren't as fun. So the last time I was there, I decided to get some pink rice. I had no idea what it was, but c'mon. It was pink. I could figure out what to do with it later.

When I got home I asked Google about it and from the store's website, I learned that that this rice was nearly extinct. One farmer in Madagascar brought it back from just one seed, or so the story goes. The site also said the rice was pink because of the way it is milled, leaving some of the bran layer on the grains. And it said the rice was "elusively aromatic of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg." Ever the skeptic, I wasn't sure what to think of that fairly pompous description. But when I cooked it the other night, that's exactly what it smelled like.

This rice is amazing and I am so glad I tried it. Cooking it is simple. Just boil a cup and a half of liquid for every cup of rice, bring it down to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes or so until it is done. I added salt and a little butter, just as I would for white rice. I used water, but chicken stock would work too. It's a bit stickier than plain white rice, which I liked. I made too much, but used the leftovers for lunch the next day. I roasted a few baby heirloom tomatoes and red bell pepper strips with olive oil, salt and pepper in the morning and added it to the rice.

My next plan for it is rice cakes. I use this recipe from Barefoot Contessa for risotto cakes, and I think this rice, maybe with some dried cranberries, would be seriously yummy as a rice cake. I'll let you know how they come out.