Perfectly cooked rice is a thing of beauty. 90% of the time, I serve it unadorned alongside some other dish I’ve spent time on (like this crispy tofu and brussels hash!). But every so often I’m reminded that rice itself can be the star.
A recent picture on Yotam Ottolenghi’s instagram feed was just the inspiration I needed to dress up a pot of jasmine rice this week.
My version is studded with toasted almonds; topped with crispy shallots, garlicky yogurt and fresh herbs; and drizzled with a flavorful oil spiced with cracked coriander and cumin seeds.
I love how beautiful food photography can serve as a jumping off point; my version is definitely a departure from Yotam’s. But that’s the fun of cooking. It’s adaptable. You work with what you’ve got — be that ingredients, time or skill. My version doesn’t require much on any of those fronts.
Here’s how I made it.
First I rinsed 1.5 cups of jasmine rice and got it in my rice cooker along with a pinch of salt, one cinnamon stick and a bay leaf.
Next, I thinly some shallots and shallow-fried them in grapeseed oil. When deeply golden and crisp, I transferred them to a paper towel and seasoned them with a pinch of salt.
Then I prepped the rest of the ingredients: yogurt dressed up with lemon zest, salt, pepper and minced garlic; a bunch of fresh herbs and chopped toasted almonds. I also used two tablespoons of the leftover shallot oil to bloom some cracked coriander and cumin seeds. (Save the rest of the oil for a vinaigrette later in the week.)
When the rice was ready, I transferred it to a sheet pan to cool for a few minutes before drizzling it with the spiced oil. Then into my serving dish it went before topping it with the crispy shallots, toasted almonds, herbs and a few dollops of the garlicky yogurt.
I enjoyed this with simple roasted cauliflower and my favorite lamb meatballs (want that recipe?) but would be just as happy eating it with a fried egg and sliced avocado.
I hope you like it as much as I do, or use this recipe as a jumping off point to the rice dish of your dreams. Get cooking!
SPICED RICE WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS, TOASTED ALMONDS AND YOGURT
Ingredients…
- 1.5 cups jasmine rice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1-2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt
- 4 medium shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral oil (used twice)
- 1 tsp coriander seed (cracked in a mortar and pestle or with a skillet, or use 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed)
- 1 tsp cumin seed (cracked in a mortar and pestle or with a skillet, or use 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed)
- 1.5 cups full fat Greek or regular yogurt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2-3/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
- 2 cups fresh herbs (I used a mix of cilantro, mint and parsley)
- Sumac (optional)
Method…
- Cook rice: Place rice, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and a big pinch of kosher salt in a rice cooker or on the stovetop and cook following rice cooker or rice package directions.
- Make crispy shallots: Meanwhile, fry shallots. Place oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, add shallots and give a good stir. Stir every few minutes until they are golden brown. Don’t walk away because they go from crisp and delicious to burnt in a matter of seconds. Transfer to a paper towels and season with a small pinch of salt. Discard (or reserve for a flavorful vinaigrette later int he week) all but 2 tbsp of the oil.
- Make spiced oil: Add the coriander and cumin seed to the 2 tbsp hot oil and “bloom” (aka fry) for about a minute. This accentuates the flavor of the spices and further flavors the oil. Turn off the heat.
- Prep the garlicky yogurt: Mix the yogurt with the minced garlic clove, the zest of 1 lemon, a small pinch of salt and plenty of freshly cracked pepper.
- Transfer rice to a sheet tray to cool. Fold in the spiced oil.
- To serve: Transfer the rice to a large, shallow serving platter. Top with the crispy shallots, toasted almonds, a few dollops of the garlicky yogurt and all of the fresh herbs. Reserve remaining yogurt to serve at the table.
Enjoy!
Serves 4-6 people