Viv Moon's OUTDOOR & TRAVELLER'S eCOOKBOOK

RISONI - A Little Grain of Heaven

Rice and pasta are both great staples to have in your camp kitchen, but you should also consider adding risoni to the list.

This wonderful small rice-shaped grain of pasta can be used in a variety of ways, such as in soups, salads and even as a substitute for rice on occasions.

The kids will love it, and it's easy to cook, just like rice, which it mimics very convincingly.

So try the recipes below and I'm sure you'll be adding a packet of risoni to your camp kitchen fare.

Vegetable & Risoni Soup
An easy soup to prepare and put togther for a hearty soup dish. If you want you can add a bit of leftover lamb, or some shredded cooked chicken to bulk it out even more.

Ingredients
2 tblspns olive oil
1 large onion - finely chopped
2 cloves garlic - crushed (or 2 tspns minced garlic tube/jar)
2 strips bacon - chopped (if you are vegetarian omit it)
2 medium carrots - diced
2 medium potatoes - diced
2 small sprigs fresh rosemary (or use 1 tspn dried) - it can be overpowering)
12 cups vegetable stock (use water & stock powder, cubes, liquid, etc)
1 x med can tin tomatoes (or pasta tomato style sauce or crushed tomatoes)
salt, pepper to taste
1 to 2 cups risoni (depending how much you want in the soup - the more you add, the thicker it will be)
1 to 2 tblspns fresh parsley - finely chopped (optional)

Directions

Heat oil in large saucepan and add the onion, garlic and bacon. Sauté until soft.

Add the carrots, potatoes and rosemary and cook, stirring for a few minutes.

Add the stock and tomato and season with salt & pepper to taste and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 mins.

Stir in the risoni pasta, bring the soup back to the boil, then reduce heat again to a simmer and continue to cook; uncovered, for about another 10 minutes or until risoni is just tender. Give it a stir occasionally to stop the risoni sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Stir the parsley into soup just before serving.

Serve with some fresh, crusty bread.

Viv's Hints: If you leave the soup sitting for a little while before you serve it, the risoni will plump up even more, making an even thicker soup.
You could also add other vegetables such as beans, zucchini and cabbage, along with cannelloni or white kidney beans.

Tuna, Potato, Tomato Risoni
A nice easy dish and a tasty way to use a can of tuna.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups risoni
2 med sized potatoes - peeled and cut into small bite size cubes
1 x lg sweet potato- peeled and cut into small bite size cubes
2 tblspns oil
1 onion - finely chopped
1 x med (approx 370gm) jar tomato pasta sauce (or tin crushed tomatoes)
1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 tspn dried basil
1 tblspn balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water or stock
1 tspn sugar
2 good handfuls baby spinach leaves (obviously not always handy when camping, but if you can get it, it adds a nice freshness to the dish)
1 x lg (400gm) can chunk-style tuna in brine - drained
salt & pepper to taste
2 tblspns shaved Parmesan cheese -to serve

Directions
Pour the oil into a large pan or your camp oven, heat and add the onion and sauté until soft. (You'll need a large pan so that you can mix all the other ingredients through later.)

Add the basil, pasta sauce, red wine, vinegar, water and sugar to the pan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until thickened slightly. (Depending on what pasta sauces you use, you may also need to add a little extra water or stock as the sauce will be too thick.)

While the sauce is on the go, cook the risoni, potato and sweet potato in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain and add them to the finished sauce in the pan.

Then add the spinach and tuna and gently stir through to combine. Cook over low heat until heated through. Add a little more liquid if the mixture is too thick.

Season to taste and serve topped with Parmesan.

Viv's Hint: You could add other vegetables to this dish, such as pumpkin, peas, mushrooms or whatever you have on hand.