Nosh: All around the world in a bowl of rice

All around the world in a bowl of rice

This is a great little recipe because there are no measurements or set ingredients -- it's all up to you. Use whatever you have! Here's the basic plan:

Rice-stuffed Apples

Leftover white rice (about 1/4 cup or more for each apple)
ground turkey (or beef, soy, whatever)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
nutmeg
allspice
chile powder or a few tbsp of freshly chopped chile
freshly ground black pepper
a few Fuji apples or other large apple
handful of raisins
small pat of butter/margarine for each apple
salt
handful of fresh herbs

Preheat your oven to 400°F/204°C
Heat up a few tablespoons of walnut oil (or olive oil) in a nonstick pan and cook the onion and carrots over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey (or beef). If you're making two apples, then 1/4 - 1/2 lb should be enough, with leftovers. Add a big pinch of salt when you put the ground meat in. When it's not pink anymore, toss in the rice and stir so that the rice is coated. Add the raisins and stir. Cook over medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Add about a 1/4 teaspoon of each spice or to taste and a few grindings of black pepper, and salt to taste.

Core the apples, stuff with the rice mixture, and put each apple into a ramekin or small ovenproof bowl. Cover with foil and cook for 30 - 40 minutes or until the apples are soft. Serve with some extra rice on the side and the herbs. Dig in!

I served the apples with roasted red and white onions. Cut a cross in each onion but don't cut all the way through! Shove a tiny pat of butter into each "x", season with salt and fresh thyme leaves. Grind some black pepper over. Bake them in a separate dish covered with foil while your apples are baking.