Black Olive Rice

This Labour Day weekend presented yet another opportunity for me to try some new dishes. As always, I love to modify existing recipes to suit my own style, which inevitably will have something to do with swifter cooking time, healthy(ier) choices and freshly available ingredients. My version of black olive rice uses less oil, no seasoning, and cooked using a rice cooker. Instead of canned salted olives, I used pitted black olives which are a lot less salty and fresher. I first stir-fried the finely chopped black olives in a small amount of garlic-infused olive oil until fragrant. I then added in soaked long-grain rice to the fried olive paste until well mixed in low heat. (Sprinkle a little salt to the rice mixture, if you prefer). Lastly, I transferred the rice to a rice cooker, filled it with water just enough to cover the rice, and let it cooked automatically in the cooker. Easy and hassle-free.

I served the olive rice with baked cashew nuts, fried shrimps, fresh-cut onion slices and hot chillies. Rice and condiments are best eaten when mixed.

To compliment the olive rice, I made some mild green curry mutton, with long beans and fresh peas (again not canned or frozen).

Another dish to go with the rice was baked chicken with orange zest and spring onions. This is yet another simple and easy recipe. I first rubbed sea salt over the chicken, let it marinate for an hour (this is the seasoning), before browning them on medium heat with a small amount of oil (skin side on the pan or skillet) for a brief few minutes. I then poured in a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, a few strips of orange peel, and spring onions, before placing the pan in the oven for about 20 minutes at 170 degrees C.

To balance the meat, I prepared a simple vegetarian dish - stir-fried brussels sprout in garlic infused oil. I served the cooked vegetable with fresh onion slices for added punch and freshness.