I did some research on 'rusut' and here's what I found out: Nothing! It's probably Croatian in origin and I always thought it meant 'rice.' It isn't, at least as far as I can tell. I asked my dad and he said the same thing. At this point I'm thinking it's either a dialect or the product of a lazy tongue.
This is an old family dish. One of those ethnic things that you ate, but no one else on your block has even heard of it? Originally, it was just a down and dirty, meat and rice, weeknight dinner. I made it last night with some seitan and, well . . ., it didn't translate. The rice is just as I remember, and that's a good thing, but I'm going to keep trying on the 'meat.' It's not bad, just not great. I think, next time, I'll omit the seitan and stir in some beans.
On a side note, I'm headed up to Washington this afternoon to release my boy into the wild. His grandpa is meeting me half way, in Centralia. So dinner will be some restaurant in a small town that I don't know with an ultra-picky eater. I know I can find something in Olympia (kinda the beginnings of Puget Sound,) but that's an extra hour, round trip. I may just settle for the realistic expectation of fries and ketchup. Ug
(Actually, that sigh was so debilitating, I didn't have the energy for punctuation)
Rusut
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz mushrooms (optional)
3 links seitan hamburger, diced
OR 1 or 2 cans of beans OR omit (we'll see)
1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 cups white rice
15 oz can tomato sauce
4 1/2 cups water
Saute the onion in olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and garlic, cooking until the mushrooms release their liquid. Add the diced seitan and spices and stir until the sietan is warm. Add the rice, tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the rice is done, about 20-25 minutes.
If you're using beans, stir them in at the end. The rice will cook them and they won't mush up.
5 Servings: 415 cal (8g fat, 66g carbs, 20g protein)
Lentil walnut burgers.
1 week ago
It looks/sounds a bit like Spanish rice...
The one ingredient list I could find had buckets of water, which leads me to believe that someone, probably Dad's mom, made it like risotto. I didn't use the risotto method and I didn't eat it that way growing up. The mystery remains raveled.
Mihl - the cinnamon/clove/nutmeg offer a little different spice blend that I really like. Hope you like it too =)