Ingredients
- 2 cup basmati rice
- 1 orange
- 3 cup chicken stock
- 21/2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 cup carrots, in matchsticks
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp unsalted pistachios, chopped
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Put the rice in a sieve and rinse until the water runs clear. Cut the zest from half the orange with a very sharp knife in broad strips, slicing away the white pith. Cut the zest into fine julienne. Squeeze the juice from the orange and add to the stock.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy saucepan and sauté the onion until pale gold. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Now add the rice and stir until beginning to toast. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil; the rice will start to look pitted. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover for 15 minutes. Do not stir or the rice will become sticky. Check to ensure it isn’t burning at the bottom.
Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and saute the carrots until they lose their raw bite. Remove the carrots and put in the zest. Cook until softening -- only 2 minutes -- then add the sugar and stir until slightly caramelized. Gently fork this into the rice with the carrots, nuts, and cilantro. Serve immediately.
Recipe from Plenty by Diana Henry/Mitchell Beazley, 2010.
