|
PROBUS Club of Durham West- HOME
- Recipe June 2025
Sharing Our Recipes |
Moroccan Rice Recipe, Courtesy of Patricia Bolger |
Have you seen the price of potatoes lately? I am still looking for dinner options that can substitute for the potato. “The Big Guy” likes this recipe because it has such a quirky variety of ways it can be made special. It can be tweaked to fit an Italian meal, complement Indian food, add to a buffet or even complement a BBQ. As you know, “The Big Guy” likes to create the ambiance to match the food so it keeps him hopping and involved to locate the beverages, music and lighting to match the fete of the evening. His beverage choice this month is a Dry Light Rose, a Sparkling Rose or an ice-cold light beer. Voila! I found this recipe many years ago when we were hosting large family events. If you make this full recipe, you will have enough rice for 20 to serve on the buffet table as a warm side dish or as a room temperature salad. It is an aromatic and a very colourful dish with lots of dried fruits, seeds and nuts. It is just bursting with flavours. I would use the cayenne pepper instead of the regular black pepper off the table. I would also strongly recommend that you only choose a couple of items from the list of Garnish Options. For a quiet, intimate gourmet dinner, you would want to make half of this recipe, otherwise, you will be eating rice reruns for many days. |
Ingredients: 2 cups Basmati Rice (brown or white) 2 T olive oil 1 onion, chopped ½ cup raisin, currant or dried apricots (chopped)
2 cinnamon sticks or substitute ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp coriander ½ tsp fennel seeds - optional 6 strands saffron - optional ¼ tsp turmeric ¼ tsp cardamon or nutmeg 1 tsp salt
3 ½ cups water or broth
Garnish Option Ideas – Only choose one or two 1 orange juiced and zest 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 2 cups Italian parsley, fresh 1 cup fresh mint ½ cup pistachios ½ cup pomegranate seeds ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted Method 1. Soak the rice in cold water for 20 minutes then drain. 2. In a large pot, heat oil and saute onion until it begins to soften. 3. Add the raisins, cinnamon and spices then stir into the oils and onions. Chop the dried apricots if you are using them. 4. Add the water and all of the drained rice. Bring to a rolling boil then cover and turn the heat down to Low. (My electric stove has 10 as High, 6 as Medium, 3 as Low temperature and 1 as Simmer). White rice takes 20 minutes on Low and brown rice takes about 40 minutes. 5. Turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add any garnishes you choose. 6. Serve hot or at room temperature. This rice can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Microwave to reheat. |