Feast & Lore

Food stories featuring heritage recipes and new experiments.

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Forbidden Mango Peanut Rice Salad

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Have you tried Forbidden Rice? At one time in China it was reserved for royalty alone, which is how it got its name. It seems those emperors were onto something—black Forbidden Rice has more powerful antioxidants, fibre and protein than both red and brown rice. Not only is it good for you, it tastes great and looks striking, especially when set off by the gorgeous mango and orange in this recipe. Make it on a Sunday afternoon, pack and enjoy for heathy lunches during the week.

After cooking the rice, spread it out on a baking sheet to make it easier to evenly drizzle the dressing over. It also helps speed up the cooling process.

Black rice spread evenly onto rimmed baking sheet

The dressing is a simple mix of lime and orange juice with olive oil and some chilies, salt and pepper.

Citrus dressing in a bowl

Depending on the season, I like to change up some of the vegetables a bit. For hot summer weather like we’ve seen in Toronto the past few weeks, I like to go with cucumbers and cilantro. When it gets a bit cooler, I switch the cucumbers up for roasted beets, cutting up some of the beet greens to mix in as well. To roast the beets, wrap in foil and bake at 400° for about 1 hour, until a knife slides through easily, cutting off the outer skin after roasting.

Beets in foil

Also makes for a killer picnic salad to take along to the beach! This recipe was inspired by the Black Rice Salad with Mango and Peanuts via Epicurious.

Mango salads shot from above, on a beach blanket

 

Forbidden black rice not only looks striking, it's even better for you than brown rice!

 

4 from 5 votes
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Forbidden Mango Peanut Rice Salad

Lush mango and bright citrus top healthy and delcious "forbidden" black rice with cilantro and a few other crunchy vegetables. Topped with dry roasted peanuts and spicy peanut sauce, this is a great portable lunch feast great for a summer picnic or working lunch.

Course Lunch, Salad
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 oranges
  • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice, gathered from cut up oranges
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • dried chile flakes to taste
  • 2 cups Forbidden black rice
  • 2 fresh mangos
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves roughly chopped
  • 1–2 jalapenos, to taste seeded and sliced
  • 1 seedless cucumber sliced into 2" lengths, 1/4" wide
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • 2 red beets, roasted and chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 cup beet leaves, sliced (optional)
  • 1/2 cup salted, dry-roasted peanut
  • 1/3 cup Thai style peanut sauce

Instructions

  1. Bring rice and 2 3/4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Season with salt to taste. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 25 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 15 additional minutes. 

  2. Slice top and bottom from orange, cutting through the peel and pith to reveal the fruit. Working top to bottom, slice the peel and pith from the sides of the orange. Cube orange, discarding the centre pith and any seeds. Combine lime juice, orange juice, oil and dried chiles in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk to blend. Reserve orange cubes. 

  3. Spread rice onto a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle the juice dressing over the rice, stirring to coat. Season with additional salt if required. Divide rice among four plastic lunch containers. 

  4. Top each container with cut up mangoes, cilantro leaves, jalapenos, cucumber and roasted beets and sliced beet leaves if using. Drizzle evenly with peanut sauce.

  5. Wrap peanuts in plastic wrap or wax paper. Pack separately and sprinkle onto salad immediately before eating, to ensure they remain crunchy.

Garlic Lime Chicken with Mango Salsa and White Bean Quesadillas

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Mango Salsa with Garlic Lime Chicken with Quesadillas

 

This summer inspired feast is the perfect thing to tuck into on a patio with an ice cold beer (or a white wine sangria). Juicy mango forms the base of a salsa that is the perfect accompaniment to seared chicken. Even on its own, the chicken is lively with fresh garlic, lime juice and cumin. Quesadillas grilled with cheese, spinach and a white bean puree round out the plate. It also makes for great leftovers, holding up well for a day or two after it’s made.

There are multiple recipes outlined to bring together for the final ensemble, but everything is quite easy and the whole thing can pulled together in about 60 minutes. Not to mention any of the three recipes are great on their own or paired with other dishes—for example the mango salsa would also make for a mean topping on fish tacos. But back to this recipe grouping—our plan of attack: start by cutting and prepping all of the ingredients, sauté and blitz the beans into a puree, and then while the chicken is cooking, stir together the mango salsa and assemble and sear the quesadillas. Let’s get started.

Once you’ve cut and prepped everything, create the quesadilla bean puree filling. Cook the beans with olive oil, spices and shallots until the beans soften and the shallots are slightly golden.

White kidney (Canellini) beans are cooked in a skillet with olive oil and shallots.

Remove from heat, and add to a mini-blender with lime juice. Puree until smooth.

Prep the quesadillas: start with one whole wheat wrap, spread it with the bean puree, add baby spinach and top with cheese.

Quesadilla is assembled starting with a base of flatbread with puree, spinach, then cheese and topped off with another flatbread.

Next, prep the chicken. You’ll want to remove the tenders, and then slice each breast open like a book to stuff with limes, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Then close them back up to seal the limes and garlic inside.

Add chicken to a large saute pan with olive oil. Add additional garlic to the pan, pouring half of the lime juice on top, and sprinkle with cumin. Flip the chicken half-way through, pour the remaining lime juice over, and sear well.

To finish cooking, I like to turn the heat down to a low setting (2–3 on my induction cooktop) and cover the pan with foil (or a lid if you have one). I find this slow finish makes for a juicy and tender final product.

Finally, mix the ingredients for the mango salsa and cook the quesadillas.

Ingredients for mango salsa in a green bowl

Bring it all together and dinner is served!

shot from above, chicken with mango salsa, with quesadillas on the side

 

Don’t forget to save some for lunch tomorrow…

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Garlic Lime Chicken

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts tenders removed
  • 2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
  • 1 lime cut into 8 slices
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp cumin

Instructions

  1. Remove tenders from chicken breasts, and slice each breast starting from the thickest point, cutting partway through until you are able to open the breast like a book. Season with salt and pepper to taste

  2. Sprinkle half of the garlic over the opened chicken breasts. Place 2 lime wedges at the centre, and fold back the chicken to close the "book". 

  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the olive oil. Place the chicken into the pan, add remaining garlic, pour half of the lime juice over top, and sprinkle with cumin. 

  4. Cook for 6–8 minutes, then flip chicken over. Pour the remaining lime juice over top. Cook until a nice golden sear develops on the second side, about 2–3 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, and top with a lid (or use foil if you don't have a lid for your skillet) until chicken is cooked through, about 4–6 additional minutes.

  5. Serve with mango salsa spooned over top.

 

 

Colourful mango salsa tops seared chicken with tangy lime and savoury garlic
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Mango Salsa


Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe mangos peeled and chopped into 1/4" dice
  • 1/2 fresh pinapple peeled and chopped into 1/4" dice
  • 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers more if you like it spicy, seeded for less spicy
  • 2 shallots sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1/4 cup lime juice freshly squeezed
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange or pinapple juice

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine lime and orange juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest while you prep and combine the remaining 5 ingredients into a large bowl.

  2. Remove garlic from juices and discard. Pour juices over the salsa mixture and serve.

 

 

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White Bean Spinach Quesadillas


Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 shallots chopped
  • 19 oz white kidney beans ((Cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
  • pinch nutmeg
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 8 whole wheat tortillas, 7"
  • 8 oz baby spinach
  • 1 cup grated cheese Cheddar-Mozzarella mix works well

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook until softened, about 2–3 minutes. Add white beans, nutmeg and salt & pepper to taste, and continue to cook for 5–8 minutes until beans soften.

  2. Transfer bean mixture to a mini-food processor, add juice of 1 lime, and pulse until it forms a puree.

  3. Build the quesadillas: starting with one tortilla, spread 1/4 of the bean mixture on top. Add a handful of baby spinach, and top with cheese. Top with another tortilla. Repeat to build four.

  4. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil—when heated and shimmering, add one quesadilla. Cook until the tortilla crisps up and the filling starts to melt, then flip. Cook until the bottom is golden and the filling is nice and melty.

  5. Slice and serve!