Did you know that cranberries and rice are the 2 crops that can be grown on fully-saturated (i.e. damp) land? I learnt that this week from a colleague who studies how Dutch "polder" land can be farmed to absorb the most carbon.
So I decided to try making a rice and cranberry dish this weekend!
It's getting wintry here, too, so a nice festive wintry dish is needed. I was inspired by this recipe by Little Spice Jar, but I think their way of pre-cooking the rice is odd and a bit complex, so my version is (I hope) easier and makes the most of the saffron. One thing they're right about: use good quality basmati rice. You'll really notice.
Total time: 50 minutes. Serves 2.
Pre-soak the rice. Measure out the amount, rinse it in a sieve under running water, and then soak it in fresh cold water for 20 minutes. Meanwhile do the next steps.
Heat up a small frying pan on a medium heat. If your pistachios haven't been roasted, you can first toast them at this point, and then put them to one side. You'll be re-using the frying pan.
Boil a kettle and then soak the saffron in an exact quantity of water: one-and-a-half times the amount as the rice. We'll be using the classic way to "steam-cook" rice in a pan, and the exact ratio depends a little bit on the shape of your pan, but one-and-a-half works well for me. Leave the saffron to soak in this warm water for about 10 minutes while you do the next part.
Add the olive oil to the frying pan, and start the onion frying. After about 4 minutes once the onion has softened, add the turmeric, sumac, dried cranberries, and stir. Add the sugar, and a small splash of water to help the sugar get absorbed. Once that has all mixed together, and the onions nicely softened with a touch of caramelisation, take this off the heat.
Drain the rice, using a sieve. Add half of the pistachios to the cranberry onion mixture.
Now we can assemble the pilaf. Take a pan that has a tight-fitting lid, add the butter, and put the pan on the medium heat. Once the butter has melted and coated the pan, add the rice to it, and let it cook slightly on the heat while you add the rest. Pour the saffron and its water over the rice, making sure to pour it evenly around so that the saffron isn't in clumps, and then make sure the rice is spread evenly with a flat top. Then spoon the cranberry onion mixture on top of this, again trying to make a nice even layer.
Now put the lid on tightly, and don't open it again for the next 20 minutes! For the first 3 or 4 minutes, you should let it cook at medium heat Then turn the heat right down to very low - on a gas hob, I would turn it to the lowest it can possibly go, and on an induction I use setting 2 out of 9. You then have about 15 minutes to prepare other parts of the meal, or to relax.
The pilaf is ready when all the water has been absorbed. When this happens the pan gets hotter, and you can test it by putting a splash of water on the side - it should fizzle away.
Open the pan, give the pilaf a stir (or don't, if you want to preserve the layering), and then serve it, topped with the remaining pistachios and maybe a nice little sprinkle of some more sumac.