Black Rice with Lacinato Kale
Today you'll be making a dish with black rice and lacinato kale, an exciting and delicious option for a healthy whole grain dish.

Today you'll be making a dish with black rice and lacinato kale, an exciting option for a healthy whole grain dish.
First, you're going to cut the kale into large pieces and then you're going to blanch the kale into some salted water. You precook the lacinato kale a little bit so it will be tender when you bite into it. All you have to do to blanch the kale is submerge it in boiling water, wait about 30 to 40 seconds and then remove the kale from the water and place it in a bowl. Let it cool so you can later squeeze out the excess water.
In order to prepare this dish, you have to precook some black rice, which is also known as forbidden rice and is one of the most nutritious rices you can eat. You will also be using some pine-nuts, which is a healthy fat, so it's great for a heart-healthy diet. The next ingredient is currants which are soaked. You'll also have some smoked paprika, which adds a nice smoky layer to the dish, some olive oil, another source of healthy fat, and finally some fresh mint.
Now you can move back to your kale and squeeze out the excess water from it. Then, place it on a cutting board so you can chop it into smaller pieces to add to the black rice.
Next, move onto the stove and in a pot with a little olive oil add in your kale, your black rice, the smoked paprika, some sea salt, the pine nuts, some dried currants, and finally the torn mint right over-top.
Now you're all set to try your dish! This is a great dish to bring to a potluck with your friends or to pack in lunches as well for the office as well! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup black rice
- 1 bunch Lacinato kale
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup mint
- ⅓ cup currants (soaked)
- Olive oil
- Smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1) Wash the rice. Place in a small pot with 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 50 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Let stand for 10 minutes 2) While the rice is cooking, cut the kale into large pieces and blanch the kale. Bring a medium pot of salted water to boil. Dunk the kale in the water for about 60 seconds and then remove and let cool. Squeeze out the excess water. 3) Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet and sauté the kale for a couple of minutes. Then add the currants, pine nuts and spices. Add the rice and toss to combine. Adjust olive oil and salt to taste, and add fresh mint to finish. Serves 4
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Information Based on a Single Serving
*Percent Daily Value are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Dietary Needs



Cholesterol



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[MUSIC]
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You're watching Eating by Heart.
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I'm Colombe, and today we're making
a dish with black rice and lacinato kale.
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[MUSIC]
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It's definitely more exciting for
a whole grain dish.
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So first, you just cut the kale
into large pieces, and we're gonna
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blanche the kale so that we precook it
a little bit and make it much more tender.
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So I'm gonna bring this
on over to the stove.
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[MUSIC]
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Kale is so nutritious for you, and it's
also got just so many good nutrients and
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minerals.
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[MUSIC]
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We wanna make it tender so
it's not tough when you bite into it.
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And see how the kale gets really nice and
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green when you pop it
into the salted water.
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You just wait about 30 to 40 seconds.
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So blanching kale is just to
submerge it in hot water,
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to precook it for the rest of the dish.
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We don't have to use an ice bath,
because the kale is forgiving and
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can cook a little longer.
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We'll let this cool and
then we'll squeeze out the excess water.
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So while our kale is cooling,
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let's talk about all the other
ingredients we're using.
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I'm using black rice, so
I've precooked this black rice.
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It's also known as forbidden rice.
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It's one of the most nutritious rices you
can eat, and it also tastes really good.
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We're using pine nuts.
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Which is a healthy fat.
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So it's good on a heart-healthy diet.
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We're using currants.
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These are soaked, so
I've plumped them up a little bit.
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And this is smoked paprika.
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It's got a smoky flavor.
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This adds an even deeper
layer to the dish.
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I'm using olive oil,
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which is a monounsaturated fat, so
it's safe to use for a heart-healthy diet.
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And then a finishing
touch of fresh mint and
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that'll just give a nice,
minty fresh flavor.
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My kale here is looking good, I'm just
going to take my tongs and squeeze it out.
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And I'll place it on my cutting board.
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I want to cut this down even more so
that the pieces are more bite sized.
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And then I'm just going to give it
a good chop, just a rough chop.
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So in goes my olive oil, then some kale.
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[SOUND] Then my forbidden rice.
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[SOUND] Smoked paprika, dash of sea salt.
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Then my pine nuts and
some dried currant for
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natural sweetness.
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And finally,
just torn mint right over top.
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This is a great dish
to bring to a potluck.
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It's really great room temperature.
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Or to pack in lunches.
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It's really great too.
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And now let's try it.
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All right, it looks good.
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Another winner.
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And the currants are such
a surprising sweetness that's so
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good with the rest of
the flavors in the dish.
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Thanks for watching Eating by Heart.
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See you again soon.
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