Whole rice and peas purée

After a week of cold rain sun is shining all over Provence warm and delightful so we can eat outside again .Yesterday temperatures got higher , 25° in the shadow but when we put the  thermometer under the sun it touched 38° ( yes ,I know it is not the right temperature but just to say sun was very warm . As sudden changes of weather like this tends to make me feel " heavy" I prepared a dish that's nourishing but light and also nice to see , so if you're  vegetarian or even vegan here's a recipe easy to do and elegant in presentation . I added to the rice Sengiri Daikon ,Dried Lotus Roots and alguae Hijiki for a rich complement in vitamins, fibres and minerals wich helps to afford the heat.

Ingredients for 4 servings

250 gr of whole organic rice

Water

A pinch of sea salt

8 pieces of dried lotus root

Two tbsp of dried radish ( sengiri daïkon )

I tbsp of algae hijiki

For the peas purée

400 gr of little peas , the ones you can eat completely as they haven't the pea inside

2 cloves of fresh garlic

1 tsp of sea salt

An handful of tarragon

1 tbsp of double cream or sesame oil if you're vegan

Wash the rice , put in a cup to have the measure ( you'll have to use the double of water) pour it in a pot ,cover with the double quantity of water and bring to boil covered,it should be boil gently.In the meantime soak in water the daikon and the lotus ,like this

Wash the peas, put 1&1/2 liter of water to boil with the salt , then throw in the peas and let cook 2 minutes , drain them with a large slotted spoon in order to keep the broth . Put the peas and the garlic in a pan  and cover with the broth (you'll don't need all) ,let simmer covered till the peas becomes very soft ( the time depends on peas if they are very young and fresh it won't take more than 15 mn ) control and add some broth if it gets too dry. Taste for salt and keep warm.

Now we come back to the rice: whole rice takes about 40 minutes for cooking but as we can keep it in the frigidaire some days I always cook a double portion to make other recipes . After 20 minutes of cooking you can add the alguae , the lotus and daikon drained  and a pinch of sea salt ( keep in mind that alguae are salted already ) mix with the rice , cover and let cook completely. It's ready when water is  consumed and on the surface little holes appears .

Now you can re-warm a little the peas if they got cold , put in a mixer with the double cream or the oil and the bunch of tarragon ( if you don't find it you can use parsley or chervil instead) Mix till very smooth ,add some broth if it's too thick . It's incredible how velvety it comes ! To serve I used a ring of about 9cm of diameter , filled with the rice , put a slice of lotus on top and the purée all around . If you like it you can pour some drops of soy-sauce on the rice .

With this recipe I participate to this Italian contest about healthy food on this blog