Festive Buttery Bejeweled Rice
A delightful and flavorful rice that is loaded with goodies. Looks gorgeous as an addition to your holiday table, and definitely a festive treat for an everyday meal. Lightly adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, page 92, November 2019 issue.
Equipment
- Large pot or deep pan with lid
- Small skillet/fry pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup almonds, skin removed, lightly toasted
- ½ cup pistachios, shelled, lightly toasted
- 8 stalks scallions/ green onions
- 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter divided
- 5 large carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
- ¾ tsp. ground cardamom
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- ¾ tsp. ground turmeric
- ½ cup dried apricot, sliced
- ½ cup dried cranberries, unsweetened
- ¼ cup dried raisins
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Sort and lightly toast the nuts* and set aside. Thinly slice the scallions; separate the dark green parts from the white and pale green part. Rinse rice until water runs clear, drain and set aside. Prep and slice the garlic cloves.
- Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a large heavy pot/deep pan over medium heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened without browning, 10–12 minutes. Stir in sugar and a pinch of salt and cook, until sugar dissolves. Stir well to coat the carrot slices. Transfer carrots to a bowl and set aside.
- Melt another 4 Tbsp. butter in the same pot over medium. Add garlic and reserved pale green and white parts of scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened about 5 minutes. Stir in rice, cardamom, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, and turmeric and mix well until some grains are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp. salt and 3¾ cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover pot and cook until rice is soft, 25–30 minutes. Remove pot from heat; let rice sit for 10 minutes with lid on.
- Prepare the fruits when the rice is cooking. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a small fry pan/skillet. Add dried fruits and cook, stirring often, until fruit is plumped and softened, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
- Add remaining 3 Tbsp. butter to rice. Mix well and fluff with a fork. Carefully spoon rice onto a large serving platter. Arrange the prepared fruits, nuts, carrots and sliced scallion greens in rows on top of rice and serve!
Notes
* You can use prepared almonds and pistachios that are already toasted. However, if you want to use raw almond and pistachios, do the following:
For almond, soak shelled almonds in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and pinch off the skin. Gently split almonds in half. Put in toaster oven or heat up oven to 350°F(176°C) and bake for 3 minutes.
For pistachios, put shelled pistachios in oven 350°F(176°C) and bake for 6 to 7 minutes until lightly browned.