Starches: Rice, Beans, Pasta, and Seeds

• Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then soak for 10-15 minutes in cool water. Drain well.
  
• Use the right ratio of water: 2 parts water to 1 part rice. For slightly firmer rice, use 1 part liquid to 2/3 parts rice.
  
• Bring the water to a boil. Once it's boiling, add a big pinch of salt. Add rice.
  
• Reduce heat to low and bring the rice to a gentle simmer (185-195*F, with bubbles just breaking the surface). Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid.
  
• Cook without peeking or stirring. Cook until the water is absorbed, about 18 minutes. Do not open the lid during cooking so the steam doesn't escape. Do not mix or stir the rice while it's cooking at all — this will lead to gummy rice.
• Let the rice rest covered. Turn off the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 10 minutes. During this time, the rice will steam for extra fluffy results.
• Fluff the rice with a fork. Add a pat of butter, if desired. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  

• Heat the broth over low heat.
• In a large saucepan, heat 1½ tablespoons of oil and cook the mushrooms until soft, about 3 minutes
• Put the mushrooms and the liquid in a bowl and reserve.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoons oil to saute pan, and cook the onions for 1 minute.
• Stir in the rice, coating it with oil, and toast for about 2 minutes.
• When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed.
• Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. Taste test the rice – it should be soft with just a touch of bite in the center.
• Remove from heat and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, and parmesan.
• Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• In a large bowl, rinse the rice with cold water, stirring it with your hands to remove as much of the surface starch as possible. The water should be very cloudy. Drain through a fine-mesh strainer, and rinse again under cold running water. Drain thoroughly.
• Heat the butter or oil in a 4-quart heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender, about 3 minutes.
• Add the rice and cook, stirring, until the grains are translucent, about 3 minutes. For a toastier flavor, continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly colored and smells nutty, about 2 minutes more.
• Stir in the broth or water, salt, pepper, and saffron, if using. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat so that the liquid simmers gently. Cover and cook until the rice grains are plump, fluffy, and separate, and all of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 18 minutes. (Check by using a skewer or other utensil to poke through the rice to the bottom of the pan.)
• Remove the pan from the heat, uncover, lay a folded kitchen towel over the pan, and cover again to hold the towel in place. Let the rice rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the lid and towel, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.

Prepare beans

• Cut green pepper into 1-inch squares. Smash and peel 4 garlic cloves. Put the green pepper and garlic into a large pot with the beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or more.

Prepare Sofrito

• Cut the remaining ½ green pepper into ¼-inch dice. Peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add remaining garlic, jalapeño, oregano, cumin, black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt and stir for another minute. Pour in the vinegar and scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Puree if desired.

Assembly

• When the beans are cooked, discard the bay leaf. Remove and set aside the ham hock and let it cool. Transfer 1 cup of beans to small bowl, mash them into a paste with the back of a fork and return to the pot. Add the sofrito, then the sugar. Pull the meat from the ham hock, leaving behind any white sinew or gristle. Chop the ham into ½-inch pieces and return it to the bean pot.
• Stir the beans well and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so, skimming any foam from the top. Taste for salt and serve with white rice.

• Pick through beans for stones or dirt. Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse well the following day.
• In a large pot, cover the beans with cold water by at least 2 inches. Add herb sprigs and garlic cloves and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook until beans are very tender, about 1 to 2 hours. Season with 2 teaspoons salt. Drain beans, reserving bean-cooking liquid. You should have about 3 cups of cooked beans. Discard herb sprigs.
• Heat fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook until onions start to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Stir in serrano pepper and chipotle powder; cook 1 minute. Transfer drained beans into skillet. Mash about half the beans with a potato masher or back of a spoon. Ladle some bean cooking liquid to skillet. Continue to mash and stir beans as you gradually add more liquid.
• Mash until the beans have reached your preferred consistency and texture. Taste and add more salt, if desired.

How to start

• Begin cooking pasta when sauce is done and NOT BEFORE. For best results, your sauce should be done cooking and ready BEFORE you begin cooking your pasta.
• Start with a LOT of water. 1 gallon of well-salted water per pound of pasta is a good rule. The water should taste like seawater. (Approximately 2 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water)
• Don’t add oil! It does nothing but float to the top and make the pasta greasy as it is drained. Nasty.

How to cook

• Don’t add pasta to the pot until the water is at a rolling boil. ROLLING.
• Stir the water to get it moving. Add pasta. Immediately stir again. Keep an eye out for clumps of pasta. Stir till pasta separates. Stir again, then continue to stir cooking pasta AT LEAST every two minutes of cook time to keep pasta from sticking to itself.
• If you cannot use 4 quarts of water per pound of pasta or you are cooking a lot of pasta at one time, you will need to stir the pasta MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY to keep the pasta from sticking to itself or burning to the bottom of the pan.

When is it done?

• Most pasta is done after 8-10 minutes. Size matters and small shapes will be done more quickly than larger pieces.
• Check for doneness early and often. Check for doneness by eating a piece. It should be soft with a gentle bite right in the center. This is called al dente and is considered the best way to serve pasta.
• Remove pasta when it is SLIGHTLY under your target level of doneness to compensate for carry-over cooking.

How to sauce

• Sauce immediately: Cooked pasta can’t sit around – it will stick to itself and become mushy as it continues to cook.
• Don’t rinse your pasta (unless you are precooking pasta – in that case you may stop the cooking process by shocking the pasta under cold running water).
• Don’t add oil to cooked pasta – that will keep the sauce from sticking.
• Deposit pasta directly into sauce, swirl carefully, then plate. Never, EVER, pour sauce over plain pasta. It may look pretty, but the sauce won’t stick and the eating experience will be poor.
• Save some of the cooking water! Reserve about ½ cup – it's flavorful, somewhat salty, and starchy. It can be used to loosen a thick sauce without diluting body or flavor.

• Pour tomatoes and juice into a large bowl. Open tomatoes with hands and remove and discard seeds and fibrous cores; let tomatoes drain in china cap until excess liquid is removed, about 5 minutes.
• Reserve 2½ cups tomato juice and discard remainder.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds
• Stir in strained tomatoes and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated, tomatoes begin to stick to bottom of pan, and brown fond forms around pan edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Stir in a small amount of the reserved tomato juice and cook until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Continue to add reserved tomato juice and reduce, scraping up any browned bits, until all juice has been added. Remove from heat when sauce has thickened to desired consistency.
• Stir in basil and remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water (or broth), salt, butter, and oil to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover tightly with a lid, and remove from heat. Let the couscous steam for 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff the couscous and break up any clumps. Serve warm.

For the quinoa:

• In a medium saucepan, add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer. Add quinoa to simmering liquid. Return to a simmer over medium heat, cover the pan, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 12 to 15 minutes. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID DURING THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF COOKING.
• Take the pot off the heat and let it sit (covered) for an additional 20 minutes. The cooked quinoa will continue to release steam during this time, which will ensure the seeds fluff up, light and airy.

For the dressing:

• In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, parsley, thyme, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assemble:

• Pour the dressing over the quinoa and toss gently with a fork until all the ingredients are coated, taking care not to crush the individual seeds. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.