There's No Such Thing as Too Much Comfort: Carrot, Spinach, and Rice Stew

It snowed here in Michigan yesterday, which is not actually unusual for mid-April. We’re living in complicated times and I have some related thoughts regarding the quarantine and people’s reactions to it, but the takeaway I choose is this: Mother Nature has declared y’all aren’t planting shit right now, and it’s okay to let go of those ambitious garden plans and sit right down.

In fact, sit down with a stack of cookbooks and consider some aspirational cooking for the weeks ahead, then wander into the kitchen and make this deceptively simple, delicious, downright cozy soup with the odds and ends in your fridge. It was simple enough that I managed to make it while in the middle of canning some stock, with some help from my kids, and hearty enough with the addition of some leftover chicken that I didn’t have to make anything else to go with it or worry that John was going to disappear into his room with a 5-pound box of crackers afterwards. It’s light enough that I can see it being an almost-year-round lunchtime staple. In other words, everything I want a soup to be.

From The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman, who has my everlasting gratitude for snapping me out of the fancy-schmancy cooking of the late 90s and helping me become a really solid home cook.

Carrot, Spinach, and Rice Stew

½ lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 -inch dice
¾ cup long-grain rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb fresh spinach, thick stems removed, roughly chopped
1 tsp minced garlic, optional
2 tbsp butter, optional

Combine the carrots with 6 cups of water in a saucepan and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then stir in the rice and a large pinch of salt.

When the mixture returns to the boil add the spinach, then adjust the heart so that it simmers gently.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice and carrots are very tender and the mixture takes on the consistency of a thick stew, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the garlic or butter and cook for another 5 minutes. Or forget about that part altogether and add some chopped chicken left over from last week’s curry and a little bit of cumin instead.

Adjust the seasonings as needed, adding a little water if it needs to be thinned.