Hamilton Beach Rice Cooker: Farro Salad, Arugula, Dried Cherries, Toasted Almonds, Goat Cheese
Today’s Post is through the folks at Hamilton Beach sharing their 4-20 Cup “Rice Cooker and Hot Cereal Maker”.
Intrigued with preparing other grains in addition to white or brown rice in this Rice Cooker and Hot Cereal Maker I opted to give the grains option a try cooking Farro and preparing a Farro Salad with Arugula, Dried Cherries, Toasted Almonds, and Goat Cheese.
The nice thing about the grains option is that you can easily whip up healthy dishes simply by combining a mix of ingredients. Instead of arugula, you could also use baby spinach or any other dried fruit or nut that you might already have in your pantry. You could add other steamed or cooked fresh veggies and any bits of cheese you have on hand. Providing your ingredients work suitably together, it all works.
I was pleasantly surprised with the results of the cooked Farro providing me with a batch of perfectly cooked grain to use in preparing today’s salad. I prepared a double batch, mainly for purposes of my own test kitchen product review matching the appliances volume capacity and storing the remainder to add to a nice ‘stick to the ribs’ soup tomorrow, especially since the current rain storms blowing off the tropical winds elsewhere have abruptly put our part of the east coast into a definitive fall has definitely arrived mindset.
Using an organic Italian pearled Farro only required a good rinse before cooking, and this task was easily performed using the interchangeable white plastic Rice Rinser/Steam Basket included with the “Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker” that can then be again rinsed out for dual use should you like to additionally steam some vegetables, or even fish in your cooking preparation.
Since I rarely prepare foods in quantities for one or two, my consideration and thoughts are frequently geared toward larger groups, even crowds, so I couldn’t help thinking of this Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker as an excellent appliance for event get-togethers such as for preparing a large pot of rice when hosting an International Ladies Party at my home or for families whose cultural dishes lend to large quantities of rice on a regular basis.
With its 4-20 cup capacity, I was also inspired by how with a convenient plug-in area (we used the goalie’s storage area during our college field hockey matches) this appliance suits remarkably well for Tailgating. It has the ability for serving many diverse functions from simply scooping the finished cooked ingredients spooned straight from the cooker using the included plastic rice server spoon, or transferring the hot contents onto a large serving tray for dressing with any ingredient combinations.
Heck, since it is also a Hot Cereal Cooker, early riser tailgaters tasked with smoking ribs or pigs could first also enjoy a hearty breakfast by spooning out some hot cooked cereal alongside some honey or maple syrup.
I did find a couple challenges with the Rice/Hot Cooker including the recipe directions on the Grain Cooking Chart listing the Maximum Amounts of Grain to Maximum Amounts of Water instead, since it is a 4-20 cup capacity appliance I would have liked to see a more thorough listing in the Rice Cooker Booklet from the 4 cup preparation on up, given that lots of folks generally prefer to look at their desired recipe amounts at a glance rather than figuring out the math.
The inner cooking bowl has the liquid measuring lines in black making measuring a little more difficult as compared to a more visible white or grey line for easier visibility. You’ll also want to remember to detach the easily removable clear plastic condensation collector early on in clean-up which is a terrific feature, though I forgot to do so and landed with water sprinkling over the floor following wiping the Rice Cooker down to its easy-to-restore, nice shiny stainless outer design which easily restored to its natural beauty.
Providing what matters most of all to me, is consistent, properly cooked food I was quite pleased with the Rice Cooker preparation results, including my two-meal option, but for today, beginning with some perfectly cooked Farro we have, the Hamilton Beach Rice Cooker: Farro Salad, Arugula, Dried Cherries, Almonds, Goat Cheese.
You can find the Hamilton Beach 4-20 cup capacity Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker at Amazon.
The Hamilton Beach Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker was sent to me for review purposes, all opinions included are my own.
Rice Cooker Farro Salad, Arugula, Dried Cherries, Toasted Almonds, Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- For the Dressing:
- 1/2 large orange, juiced seeded
- 1/4 cup plus 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt, more or less to taste
- 1 small pinch ground coriander
- 1 small pinch garam masala
- For the Salad:
- 5 cups cooked farro
- 2 cups arugula
- 1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted, chopped
- 6-8 large mint leaves, hand torn
- 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Preparing the Dressing: In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, coriander, and garam masala.
- Preparing the Salad: In a large bowl fold together the farro with the almonds, dried cherries, arugula, and mint. Pour dressing over the Farro Salad and stir throughout. Check seasoning, adjusting to taste. Transfer salad to salad bowl or tray, top with crumbled goat cheese.
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