Corned Beef Cook-Up Rice

The versatile cook-up rice

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown/long grain white rice

• 2 1/2 cups cooked corned beef, cut into chunks

• 1 can kidney beans

• 1 onion, cut into chunks

• 1 bag fresh spinach

• 8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and quartered/halved

• 12 fresh or frozen whole okra

• 2 to 3 tbsp casareep

• 1 tsp dried or 1 tbsp fresh thyme

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk/cream

• 2 cups water

• 1 to 2 tbsp oil

• salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp oil on medium low heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes.

2. Add rice to pot and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Pour in coconut milk/cream.

4. Keep adding ingredients: canned beans (with the liquid), okra, casareep, thyme, parsley, pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.

5. Stir all ingredients in pot to combine. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 1 hour.

6. While rice is cooking, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and cook mushrooms for 3 minutes. Set aside.

7. Fifteen minutes before rice is done cooking, add corned beef, mushrooms and spinach. Do not stir into rice until rice has been fully cooked. If at the end of the timer, the dish still has some visible liquid at the bottom, cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

8. When rice is fully cook and there is no liquid, stir pot to combine all ingredients in pot.

9. Serve with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Serves 6 to 8.

Notes&Tips:

• Cook-up rice is a one pot dish that can be customized to any taste. The general idea of this dish was to use up left overs - a bit of this or that - whatever was handy.

• This is a common dish that is served throughout the Caribbean/West Indies with varying names like Rice&Peas, Rice&Beans, Pelau, Black-eyed Peas & Rice. You get the idea!

• Cook-up Rice is served by many Guyanese household on Old Year's Day (New Year's Eve), although this was not a tradition in our household.

• Casareep is a dark colored sauce made from bitter cassava (or yucca). It has a sweetish sour taste. As far as I know, the best casareep comes from Guyana (the Pomeroon region). You should find it in any West Indian grocery store or online at Amazon. However, if you are unable to get this ingredient, substitute with molasses, lime juice and vinegar.

• For this dish, I use left over corned beef. However, you can use beef, chicken, or salted fish. Or make it vegetarian, then serve with fried fish. Or use a mixture of various meat to give it a another unique flavor.

• Cook-up rice should not be as dry as plain rice, but should have a "wetness" to it without being sloppy - kind of like a jambalaya or risotto.

• Okra, spinach and cabbage were the consistent vegetables that I always had in this dish growing up. The cabbage was cut into big chunks, so it would not melt away in the cooking process.

• Any canned or fresh beans (cooked first) will work. Pigeon peas and black-eyed peas are mostly used in Guyana for this dish.

• To spice up this dish, use any kind of fresh hot pepper added during cooking or a few drops of pepper sauce.

• If using cabbage, leave some thin strips for garnish. Also green onions can be used for garnish.