Fried Rice with Lavender, ham, sweet peppers, and cashews is a delicious spin on a classic dish. Lavender adds a pleasant and subtle herbal note, and it goes so well with all other ingredients. If you like fried rice, then you should try this variation.
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Hello folks – I hope you all doing well!
July is the month to enjoy lavender recipes, and today I am excited to share another tasty idea.
Cooking with Lavender
I’ve already mentioned on a few occasions the book “Cooking with Lavender” by Nancy Baggett. This this the only book I have tried multiple recipes from and shared the results on the Havoc In The Kitchen. Previously, I posted Lavender Kir Royale, Corn Lavender Chowder, Pasta Salad with Creamy Lavender Sauce, Lavender Barbeque Sauce Meatballs, Lavender Roasted Potatoes adapted from this book. And I am not going to stop! I have made another two recipes this summer…but I will only post them next year, as I am dealing with a backlog of older photos from 2022 (just a few) and 2023 (the majority) lol
Ingredients Lavender Goes Well With
Probably the best part of this book to me was the section about pairings. Even though I’d been cooking with lavender for many years, I did not know it pairs well with SO MANY things. Some of them might sound quite peculiar. The list is truly endless including:
– Meats, poultry, and seafood (Chicken, ham, lamb, pork, smoked fish, etc.)
– Dairy products like like butter and cheeses including mozzarella, brie, etc. Try this Lavender Lemon Honey Butter and Lavender Chive Thyme Butter.
– Vegetables including potatoes, corn, and tomatoes. Yes, corn and tomatoes. Try this Lavender Tomato Chickpea Spread and Sun-Dried Tomato Lavender Spread.
– Starchy ingredients such as rice, pasta, chickpeas, couscous, etc. Try this Couscous Salad with Apricots and Lavender.
Fried Rice with Lavender
This Fried Rice with Lavender combines cooked rice (you can use blended with wild rice), lean ham, sweet peppers, celery, cashews, and lavender. You will also need a little of soy sauce and ginger as the aromatics. Be sure to use culinary lavender. I slightly adapted the original recipe to my liking – for example, I did not add raisins. Lastly, it gets sprinkled with some green onions or chives.
So, this dish has a meat element, vegetables (sweet peppers and celery), and a starchy element (rice). According to the section above, that’s a win-win in terms of flavour pairing. By the way, the raisins I omitted also have a strong affinity.
I hope you like this Fried Rice with Lavender, and you will give it a try. If you try it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Fried Rice with Lavender
Course: MainDifficulty: Easy4-6
servings10
minutes10
minutesFried Rice with lavender, ham, sweet peppers, and cashews is a delicious spin on a classic dish where lavender adds a subtle pleasant herbal hint.
Recipe adapted from the book The Art of Cooking with Lavender” by Nancy Bagget.
Ingredients
2 and 1/2 cups (450 – 500 gr.) cooled cooked long-grain rice (you can use white, brown, or the combination)
1 and 1/2 cups (200 – 225 gr.) coarsely cubed baked ham or lean ham
1/2 cup (50 gr.) sliced green onions or scallions, plus more for garnish
2/3 cup celery (75 gr.), sliced (1-2 stalks)
1 sweet bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
2 tbsp. (30 ml.) olive or vegetable oil
2-3 tbsp. (30-45 ml.) reduced sodium soy sauce
1 to 1 and 1/2 tsp. peeled and finely minced ginger
1 to 1 and 1/2 tsp. dried culinary lavender, finely minced
black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup (about 40 gr.) toasted cashews, roughly chopped, for serving
Directions
- In a large and dip skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the green onions or chives, celery, bell pepper, lavender, ginger, and ham. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soften slightly, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the rice along with the soy sauce; season with some black pepper to taste. While I did not use them, at this point, you can add some (about 1/2 cup) of golden or dark seedless raisins. Continue cooking, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the ingredients are well blended and the rice is heated though.
- Off the heat and serve right away, sprinkled with some extra green onions or chives and cashews. Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
What a great combination of flavors in this — not just the lavender but the ham, bell pepper, ginger and — the real surprise — the cashews! I will be trying this!
Thanks David – I hope you’ll like it!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Watermelon Strawberry Pistachio Salad
What a fun twist on fried rice! I’ve never played around with fried rice using different ingredients like this, so I’m particularly intrigued here. Looks like you’ve been having fun with the lavender!!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Taralli
Yes, after a few-year break, I am again into lavender a lot! :)
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Watermelon Strawberry Pistachio Salad
Wow what a great idea! I bet Uncle Roger would like this 🤣
Haha thanks Raymund!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Watermelon Strawberry Pistachio Salad
This is probably the most unusual fried rice that I have ever seen (mind you, I grew up eating RICE 3 meals a day, including lots of different kinds of fried rice)! Very unique, flavourful and moreish, Ben.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Aubergine Salad with Golden Raisins, Herbs and Pinenuts
Thanks Angie!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Watermelon Strawberry Pistachio Salad
I’ve never thought to use lavender to season rice with. Sounds very interesting.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime recently posted…Lies And Weddings, Kevin Kwan
Thank you Tandy!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Watermelon Strawberry Pistachio Salad