My friend Jon challenged me to create a dessert with no flour, sugar, or artificial sweeteners and a maximum of only a teaspoon of honey per serving! Well Jon, challenge accepted!!! I’ve adored tropical fruit ever since I first tasted pineapple and papaya on a lanai with my parents in Oahu and its natural sweetness was perfect for this challenge.
This morning I planned to kick off my day with one of my favorite breakfasts, Steel Cut Oatmeal with Orange Supremes and Thyme, however, discovering that every saucepan in the house was in the dishwasher due the previous evenings cooking frenzy put a crimp in that plan. So what to do?
Instead of oatmeal, I cooked up a package of instant brown rice I keep in the house for just such emergencies, tossed in some finely diced fresh pineapple, a few leaves of sliced fresh Basil and my secret weapon, passionfruit vinegar.
Pineapple Basil Rice with Passionfruit Vinegar
You won’t find passionfruit vinegar at most grocery stores, but it’s fairly easy to come by at specialty oil and vinegar stores. Not only did it give the rice that bit of acidity it needed, but it perfumed the whole dish with the scent of the tropics. I find speciality vinegars to be a really handy way to add acidity, flavor and even a hint of sweetness to dishes without adding fat or sugar, so I keep an arsenal on hand. Passionfruit, Elderflower, Strawberry and Lavender are a few of my favorites.
Recipe:
2c Instant brown rice
1c Finely diced pineapple
10 Fresh basil leaves
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Passionfruit vinegar
Prepare instant brown rice according to package instructions. Combine rice, salt and passionfruit vinegar in a medium-size bowl. Chiffonade basil by stacking 5-10 leaves, depending on size, on top of each other, rolling up like a cigar, and slicing crosswise into 1/8 inch ribbons. Add basil and pineapple to bowl, toss gently and serve.