We’re forever fans of whole grains, but once in a while, fluffy, quickly cooked white rice feels like a reward. Colorful, festive, studded with sautéed vegetables and luscious dried fruits, aromatic Jeweled Rice is beautiful, substantial, and bursting with chewy textures, savory notes, and sweet flavors of orange and cinnamon.
Other combinations of dried fruits will work, but we highly recommend crimson-colored cranberries, dried sweet cherries, and chopped apricots. You could add a pinch of fragrant saffron or healthful turmeric when cooking the rice if you’d like yellow-colored rice. This dish is gluten-free, vegan if made with olive oil, and a total treat.
Serves 4 as a main dish; 6 as a side dish
Time: 45 minutes
1¼ cups white basmati or jasmine rice
1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons water or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, or a mixture
1 leek, thinly sliced, or 1 medium onion, chopped
Salt
¾ cup grated carrots
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
½ red or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
¾ cup mixture of dried cherries, cranberries, currants, and/or diced dried apricots
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange (½ cup juice)
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Place the rice and 1¾ cups water in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, cover with a clean dish towel, replace the lid, and set aside for about 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
While the rice cooks, in a pan on medium-high heat, warm the butter or oil. Add the leek along with a sprinkle of salt, and sauté for about 3 minutes, until softened. Stir in the carrots, lower the heat to medium, and cook for a few minutes. Add the cinnamon, cayenne, bell pepper, remaining 2 tablespoons water, and dried fruit. Cover and cook on low heat for a few more minutes.
In a large serving bowl, toss the cooked rice and the leek-and-spices mixture. Toss thoroughly with the orange zest and juice. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste, and drizzle a little olive oil on top if you like.
Serve warm alongside Spicy Filo Samosas with Spinach, Mint, and Cilantro, Two Potato Tomato Curry with Yellow Split Pea Dal, or Cashew-Crusted Chickpea Burgers.