Description
This very colorful, vibrant and festive baked rice pilaf is PERFECT for any celebration. Packed with Christmassy flavors, it’s as simple as mixing a pile of lovely ingredients with rice in an oven dish, pouring over hot stock and popping into the oven. Drizzle with lots of zingy green tahini sauce, feta and pomegranate seeds to serve.
Ingredients
For the rice -
- 1.5 cups long-grain rice (like basmati)
- 1 leek, chopped (or use an onion)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped/crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 2.5 cups hot chicken (or vegetable) stock
For the toppings -
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup pomegranate sees
- Handful of sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
Instructions
- Prepare the rice. Heat your oven to 430F/220C fan. Add 1 1/2 cups of rice, chopped leek, crushed garlic, 1/3 cup dried cranberries, 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots, 1/3 cup chopped pistachios, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of allspice and 2 1/2 cups of hot stock to an oven dish (approximately 12″/30cm x 8″/20cm). Stir so the ingredients are evenly dispersed, then cover tightly with aluminum foil and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. PRO TIP: Make sure your stock is hot when you add it to the rice. If it’s cold, your rice will take a lot longer to cook.
- Make the green tahini sauce. While the rice bakes, add 1/2 cup of tahini, 1/2 cup of parsley, 3 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup of water to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blitz for a couple of minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Garnish and serve. After 30 minutes, remove the rice from the oven but keep the aluminum foil on for another 10 minutes, so the rice can finish steaming. After this, remove the foil and fluff up the grains with a fork. Drizzle with the green tahini sauce, then sprinkle with the feta, pomegranate seeds and sage and serve.
Notes
PREP AHEAD: You can mix the rice with the other ingredients and seasoning ahead of time, then add the hot stock and pop into the oven when you’re ready to cook. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 3 days.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: While this is brilliant served by itself, it’s a fabulous side to enjoy with so many different things. Juicy herb roasted chicken, lamb koftas, hot honey harissa chicken, zucchini meatballs, ‘Marry Me’ chicken meatballs, miso glazed salmon, whole roasted cauliflower…the list goes on! It’s fabulous as part of a festive spread.
OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: Stirring shredded cooked chicken (or turkey) through the rice is a brilliant way to use up any leftovers you might have (hello Thanksgiving and Christmas!). Bacon, sausage meat or chorizo also works well.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: sides
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: med
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 250g
- Calories: 391
- Sugar: 11.7g
- Sodium: 1045.2mg
- Fat: 12.9g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Fiber: 3.3g
- Protein: 11.6g
- Cholesterol: 14.1mg