Side dish

Red Ginger Rice with Chick Peas

From our cooking class in Arles, France

Just as beautiful as the one we made at our cooking class in Provence.

Our cooking class in Arles back in March was one of the highlights of our trip to France. The class was taught by Chef Erick Vedel and featured fresh ingredients from the market (we shopped with him) and the surrounding country side. We helped to prepare the meal (enjoyed wine along the way) and then enjoyed a feast of our labors. He opened a bottle of his 1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape to go with our meal.

We were about 30 minutes late for the class that day. Our GPS got us to the exact area but then the streets split off in three directions. After stopping at one place for directions, the man pointed me towards the end of the street. I then stopped at a local pub. I asked a man about the address and he said, “oh, Erick Vedel”. I said yes and then he said “Erick is a friend of mine” and he pointed us in the right directions. Everyone was so nice in Paris and in all the towns we visited in Provence.

We got there just in time to head out to the market. Our market visit included buying cod, giant calamari, apples, olives, asparagus, lemons, and fresh ginger and then we went back to his house to prepare the meal. It’s hard to explain what his kitchen looked like, every little corner of the two room kitchen was filled with things that he cooks with, stacks of mortal pestles, graters, knives, pans, everywhere (see some of the pictures below). It looked about 200 years old at least. It was a very fun class for the four of us. His helper, Isabel, interpreted much of what he said. We just followed his directions and did what we were told especially when he poured us wine and said “drink”.

I’ve mentioned before I am not a fan of chick peas, but in this dish they were really good. We sat down for our feast at the end of the class and enjoyed:

Poulet Apicius – Honey Chicken Roman Style

La Brandade de Morue – Salted Cod in Puffed Pastry

The Fishermans’ Rouille (squid and potatoes)

Tarte Tatin aux Poires (apple tart)

Riz au Gingembre – Ginger Rice

I picked this rice up in France but you can find it in your local grocery here in the US (I looked, and found another brand.)

Our recipe from our cooking class said to cook the rice “French” style. I emailed our instructor to see what that was and was told that it was to simply cover the rice with a lot of water, cook until done and then drain off excess water.

Drain and rinse one can of chick peas.

Grate ginger root in my measuring spoon I picked up in France. It has a magnetic in the center and sticks to my refrigerator. I love it.

Saute the shallots and then the ginger root. (I would probably add some garlic the next time I prepare this dish.)

Add in the chicken peas to warm.

The rice was covered with about an inch of water and then when done, drained.

Chick peas, garlic, and ginger root all get mixed together before serving.

Red Ginger Rice with Chick Peas

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c. uncooked red rouge rice
  • 15 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger or more to taste
  • 2 shallots minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • pepper to taste
  • 3 c. chicken broth

Instructions

  1. In a heavy bottomed casserole, sweat your shallots and garlic in olive oil. Add in the grated ginger and stir over a medium flame for 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook for about 5 minutes then add in 3 cups chicken broth, bring to boil then reduce to simmer and cook 20-25 minutes.
  2. Add in the chickpeas. Stir and warm up together for 10 minutes over a medium flame. Salt and pepper, serve.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Cooking class I took in Arles, France

 

I’ve never seen a pressure cooker like this one.

2 Comments

  • Reply
    Lynn
    May 1, 2012 at 4:35 am

    Oh my gosh, I could never cook in that kitchen. Would drive me crazy. Also, I have measuring spoons similar to that from HEB. They all have magnetic in center and stick together.

  • Reply
    Honey Chicken Roman Style (Poulet Apicius) – Rosemary and the Goat
    October 16, 2019 at 11:04 am

    […] FROM THE PAST: (Also, pictures of the kitchen in Arles) This Red Ginger Rice with Chicken Peas is what we made to go with our Honey Chicken Roman […]

  • Leave a Reply

    Recipe Rating




    You Might Also Like