Ginger – an ingredient I fall in love with more, with each passing day. As a kid, I ran quickly and far – associating it with a gross concoction forced down my throat. But now I look for ginger almost everywhere. Apart from the superb antioxidant and healing properties that my body very much requires – I find it a versatile ingredient to play with – a simple stir fry with more aromatics, or playing the main role to flavour fresh tomatoes on a toast. It complements a citrus dessert, just as well as dark chocolate and cream. There is something so darn attractive about this malleable feature.
So, here I go overboard – add a nice chunk into the pot of wild rice while it cooks. A trick to enhance the flavour – cut lengthwise into medium strips, place into a mortar and pestle and give a few hits to juice up and then throw into the boiling rice water. I then, add more fresh ginger into roasting pumpkin and pomegranates. You end up with this lovely baked and thickened and juicened up melange of flavours that is tossed with wild black rice and fresh bursts of green parsley leaves! This makes for a meal in itself, or a side salad or a great tiffin – that I hide and bring to my workplace!
The Recipe
Serves
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice, cooked with few pieces of ginger
- 1 inch piece ginger, peeled (if uncooked rice)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- ½ cup pumpkin, cubed
- 1/3 cup pomegranates, divided
- olive oil for brushing
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt
- handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- RICE: cook the rice as per it's instruction, adding the piece of ginger into the water when cooking. Remove the ginger after cooked.
- Preheat the oven at 200C
- Prepare the baking tray with parchment or brush with olive oil
- Add the pumpkin cubes, and half the pomegranates with grated ginger, salt and pepper and toss with a very small drizzle of olive oil
- Roast for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is roasted through, but holds its shape
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before tossing into the rice with remaining pomegranate and fresh parsley
- Eat warm.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and eaten as a salad for the next day
