Cumin

February 1, 2015 Recipe

Saffron Jewelled Rice

As a pescetarian, vegetarian dishes are a substantial part of my diet, but when I need to feed a large number of people this is ideal, and is generally a crowd-pleaser. Because it’s one dish that’s fantastic to serve alone, with meat, or fish, it suits so many diets. For our school Quiz Night {amazingly one of the highlights of the social calendar, as we’re all so laughably inept} I served it with Ottolenghi’s Saffron Chicken.

Jewelled rice is a Persian {Iranian} dish, usually saved for weddings and celebrations. Although mine is perhaps not the most authentic version, it seems there is no definitive recipe {or rather everyone thinks their version, is the definite version}. I can’t even spot a consistent difference between the two names: Morasa and Javaher Polow – both seemingly meaning jewelled rice.

Amongst the dozens of recipes I’ve read, there appear to be two distinct variations: one which uses spices and saffron, and a whiter version which omits them. Beyond that, I’ve seen every combination of ingredients and techniques. A few remain common: both nuts and dried fruit feature heavily, with the fruit usually being barberries. These are a sour berry not dissimilar to cranberries in appearance, but as I don’t always have them to hand, I’ve found dried physalis, and sour cherries to be a decent substitute. The physalis particularly has a sour but plump effect. The recipe which appealed to me the most came from the Amira site, and this is the one I’ve adapted.
Serves 8 comfortably

Ingredients:
600g long-grain basmati rice
Generous pinch of saffron threads
300g dried fruit (I used cherries, physalis, cranberry and blueberry)
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
60g unsalted butter
A few fine julienne of carrot
Zest of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
seeds from 8 cardamon pods
2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
100g pistachios
seeds of a large pomegranate
Generous handful of parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped

Method:

Run the basmati under water in a sieve to remove the excess starch, and the cover with cold water, setting it aside to soak for an hour
Cover the saffron with three tablespoons of orange blossom water, and leave to steep
Add the dried fruit to a small bowl, and barely cover in boiling water, leave to steep
After 30 minutes, add the oil and half the butter to a frying pan and set over a low heat. Add the spices and the shallot, and soften gently for 30 minutes until the shallots are barely caramalised. Turn off the heat.
Drain the rice into a large saucepan, and pour boiling water over the rice, until it comes approximately 3cm above the rice. On a medium heat, boil the rice for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold running water, draining well.
When cool, mix the basmati into the shallots, along with the carrot strips, orange zest, saffron infusion, the dried fruit, and their soaking water. Season well with salt and pepper, and stir well.
Dot the surface of the rice with the remaining butter
Using a wooden spoon handle, make 5-6 holes through the rice, allowing it to steam evenly
Take a large piece of baking paper, scrunch it up, and soak in a little water. Shake off the excess, and lay over the rice {as a cartouche}. Cover the pan tightly with a damp tea towel, or sheet of foil, and set over a low heat. Cook, undisturbed, for 40 minutes. By this time your rice will be fluffy and a buttery crust will cover the bottom
While the rice is steaming, toast the nuts in a dry pan until they begin to smell ‘nutty’. Tip into a large bowl, and stir in the parsley, orange zest, garlic, carrot strips and pomegranate seeds
Once the rice has cooked, remove the paper, and stir through the nut and herb mixture. Serve the caramelised rice (the tah-dig) over the top.

I combine this dish with Ottolenghi’s Saffron Chicken, which also contains cardamom and oranges {one of my favourite combinations, as I’m sure you will have realised!}. The two dishes have a number of ingredients in common, and echo each other very successfully. I also took along a selection of hummus, with pitta breads toasted with a little olive oil, parsley and dukkah. Our portable pudding was a bento box of fruit, and a few riciarelli {which though Italian, are not hugely dissimilar to Middle Eastern nut treats}. And no. We did not win!

Do let me know what your favourite version of Jewelled Rice is!

January 27, 2015 Recipe

Braised lettuce, with spring onions and peas

There’s something very comforting about braised lettuce – maybe it’s because I know that lettuce is a soporific? Such a useful vegetable, there’s always, always, a variety of lettuces in my fridge, and as soon as the weather improves, in my garden. I like all varieties, particularly the more fluffy varieties such as lambs lettuce, and pea shoots (though not technically a lettuce)… I’m rather partial to herb salads to, especially those found in Eastern Europe and the Middle East… But I digress – perhaps lettuce makes one too calm, too loquacious…

Today’s variety is baby gem – that old stalwart of prawn cocktails… Personally I usually have mine simply cut in half, with a drizzle of very good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a good helping of salt and pepper – delicious just as it is. However todays little gem was destined for the pot! Braised with cumin seeds, white wine, and a tiny dash of cream, it was a perfect accompaniment to my sea trout.

Ingredients:
4 baby gem lettuce
1 glass white wine
Splash double cream
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
Bunch of spring onions
100g petit pois
20g unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Trim the spring onions, chopping three or so into a fine dice – retain the others whole
Cut the baby gems in half lengthways, retaining a little of the stalk to help keep their shape
Pop the oil and butter into a frying pan or shallow casserole, and soften the chopped and whole spring onions, without colouring them. At this point add the cumin seeds, salt and pepper
When the onions have softened a little, add the baby gems, cut side down, and cook for around 2 minutes, until they begin to soften
Add the glass of wine, and cream, and continue to cook for around six more minutes, until the lettuce is tender to a knifepoint, and the wine and cream have thickened
Add the petit pois, and cook until just tender

Notes:

This would make a great dish with fresh peas when they’re in season – I can’t digest fresh peas for some reason, but it would work beautifully
You could actually get away with adding more cumin seeds, they don’t taste as strongly in this as you might imagine
I added a little fennel herb salad to the bottom of my dish, and chervil, just to boost the anise notes further

October 1, 2014 Recipe

Cumin spiced carrot salad

I thought it might be fun to make Indian food for our inaugural book club meeting. Being a handful of girls, it clearly had to include a salad – but I suddenly realised that actually, I’m not sure what an Indian salad looks like… Having never been to India, I haven’t see any first-hand, and I’ve never seen anything beyond raita, or onion salad on an Indian restaurant menu. {I even looked at the menu on the Benares website, just to make sure I hadn’t forgotten any} Most vegetarian dishes tend to be cooked rather than raw…

So the thought process began somewhat in reverse: which spices could I use to marry to the other Indian dishes, and which salad ingredients might marry to those spices.

After my intense cardamom overload of late, I thought I’d switch to cumin seeds, which led me to combining them with carrots. Cumin, caraway, parsley, and carrots are all members of the same Apiaceae family, and compliment each other well. The rest, as they say, is history… I kept some in the fridge until the following day, and it was just as refreshing then…

Ingredients:
8 large carrots, sliced into shards (or lengthways)
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
3 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
8 spring onions, finely sliced
½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded, and cut into slices
handful of parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper to season

Method:
Combine all of the ingredients together and leave to meld – you need to leave it for at least an hour to allow the cumin seeds and carrot to soften a little. You will see my bowl is only half full – I put some additional salad leaves into mine, but clearly not while it was ‘curing’, or it would have wilted the leaves