I recently introduced "Cooking the Books", a new monthly series where I'll share
three recipes from a cookbook on my shelf. This month I'm cooking from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem, a book that won my heart with last week's astounding Pistachio Soup. Today's recipe, Basmati
& Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Currants, & Herbs, is featured in
Jerusalem's "Grains" chapter. A fragrant pilaf of rice, legumes, and fried
onions, the dish feels like the Sephardic equivalent of the Arabic Mujaddara.
The flavors are subtle, but complex: cumin and curry-scented chickpeas, sweet
currants, caramel-y onions, and a hint of grassy herbs. It's a dish whose
textures are as important as its flavors - the toothsome rice, creamy
chickpeas, crisp onions, and chewy currants play off one another, making each
bite interesting. The dish is a filling, "comfort food" entree, but would also work beautifully as a side dish in smaller portions.
Here are my recipe
notes:
1. The recipe has four
separately-cooked components - wild rice, basmati rice, spiced chickpeas, and
fried onions - meaning you can go through a lot of pots and pans while
making it. I used the same pot for making both kinds of rice and the same pan
for making both the chickpeas and the onions to reduce the kitchen clean-up a
bit, which worked well.
2. The recipe calls for
white basmati rice, but I chose to use brown basmati rice (it's what I had on
hand, and Daniel actually prefers brown rice over white). Either will
work, though the extra cooking time for the brown rice does mean a little more
time in the kitchen. As expected, brown basmati rice adds a nutty flavor and
chewy texture, which both Daniel and I enjoyed in this dish.
3. The fried onions are
supposed to be deep fried in 3/4 cup of oil, which I blatantly ignored. I
really hate wasting so much oil for such a small amount of food (throwing all
that oil away just kills me). Instead, I used 1 tablespoon of oil and pan-fried
them until they developed a deeply golden sear on all sides. Plenty
rich-tasting, better for you, cheaper, and easier to clean up. I also used
cornstarch instead of wheat flour when dredging the onions, just to keep the
dish 100% gluten-free.
Basmati & Wild
Rice with Chickpeas, Currants, & Herbs
slightly adapted from Jerusalem
serves 6-8
1/3 cup wild rice
3 tablespoons olive
oil, divided
1 cup white or brown
basmati rice
water
2/3 cup dried
currants
2 teaspoons cumin
seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons
curry powder
1 1/2 cups cooked
and drained chickpeas (canned are fine)
1 medium onion,
halved and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons
cornstarch
2 tablespoons
chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped
cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped
dill
salt and black
pepper
Put the wild rice in
a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and cover generously with water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30-40 minutes, until
grains beginning to split open and taste fully cooked but firm. Drain and set aside
in large bowl.
Return same saucepan
to medium heat and add one tablespoon of oil, followed by the basmati rice and
1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook the rice for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until
fragrant and toasted. Add water (1 1/2 cups for white rice; a scant 2 cups for
brown rice), cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until rice has
absorbed all the water (15 minutes for white rice; 30-40 minutes for brown
rice). Remove from heat, add currants, and fluff with a fork. Cover with lid
and allow rice and currants to steam for 5-10 minutes.
While rice is
cooking, make the chickpeas and onions. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon
of oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and curry powder and cook
briefly (30-60 seconds) until sizzling and fragrant. Add the chickpeas and 1/4
teaspoon salt, stir to coat in oil and spices, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until
heated through. Transfer chickpeas to the bowl of wild rice (be sure to get all
that spiced oil out, too… there's good flavor in there!).
In a medium bowl,
toss the sliced onions with the cornstarch until evenly coated. Return the
large skillet to medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. When
oil is shimmering, add the onions and toss to coat in the oil. Cook for 7-10
minutes, tossing occasionally, until onions are well-seared and tender. You
want them to be deeply golden and somewhat crisp but not burned, so keep an eye
on things and adjust heat as necessary. Once done, season with a pinch of salt and transfer the onions to the
bowl of wild rice and chickpeas.
Add the chopped
herbs, basmati rice, and currants to the bowl of wild rice, chickpeas, and
onions and toss to combine all ingredients. Taste for seasoning and adjust as
necessary. Dish is best served warm or at room temperature, and can be kept in
the fridge for about 5 days.