Nutty Jasmine Rice

(Submitted by S.J.)

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 Jasmine tea bags
• 4 cups water in a big pan
• 2 cups jasmine rice – can use basmati in a pinch
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable/olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons parsley – dried is ok
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 Package of Saffron – the most expensive part of this endeavor – I get 2 huge batches of this rice from one saffron package – this is about 1 teaspoon of saffron

DIRECTIONS

(We’re actually going to do some photos for this one!)

Prep to eat time: 30 – 40 minutes.

1. Get 3.5 cups of the 4 cups of water boiling in a large pan while you gather up the rest of your ingredients.
2. Take half of the Saffron package and let this soak in the remaining ½ C of water you aren’t boiling. Warning: will stain, use glass container.
3. When the water on the pan boils, tie the tea bags together and soak them in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the rice. Let the tea mixture come to a boil again after rice is inside it and then turn the heat down to let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, pour the 1/2 cup saffron water into the rice/tea mix and mix in. Let the rice continue to simmer for 5-10 or however long needed until the water is absorbed into the rice.OKAY – THIS IS THE TRICKIEST PART – roasting this right makes the rice:
5. In a saucepan, heat up the 2 TB olive/vegetable oil – NOT on high – this will burn/scorch the oil and will make your rice taste like shit.
6. In the warm oil (no hotter than medium heat) put in your 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup pine nuts, and your 2 Tablespoons parsley in the pan to sauté. Using constant motion to avoid burning them, roast these three ingredients together, this takes only a couple of minutes. The nuts will turn light golden brown and you will smell them roasting, and keeping them in constant motion in the pan helps prevent burning.
7. I cannot stress this enough – just start over at #5 above if you overcook these, trust me, unless you like to go lick your grill for fun.
8. Your rice should have absorbed all the water before you add the nut mixture. Remove rice from the heat and stir in your freshly roasted nuts/parsley.
9. Non vegans can put a little bit of yogurt or tzatziki on top = yum.

(Click an image for a larger view)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember that cold rice leftovers can make you really, really sick – you have to make sure to heat rice all the way through when eating – no cold leftover rice!

This will make a nice big pot of rice with a delicate, nutty flavor that everyone I’ve made it for loves. Good with chicken.