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Rice with Pine Nuts, Pistachios, and Almonds

This is an elegant and decorative way of serving rice at a party.

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare plain or saffron rice, cooking in water or chicken stock, following one of the recipes at the beginning of this chapter.

    Step 2

    Chop 1/2–3/4 cup mixed pistachios and blanched almonds coarsely, and fry them with 1/2 cup pine nuts in a little oil until just golden. Or use only one or two kinds of nuts.

    Step 3

    Just before serving, spread the nuts evenly over the bottom of an oiled ring mold large enough to hold all the rice. Press the rice over the nuts tightly and turn out onto a heated serving dish. This traditional ring shape is common for rice. In this case, it will be crowned by the assortment of nuts.

    Step 4

    An advantage is that you can pack the rice and nuts into the oiled mold in advance and keep it warm in a low oven, ready to be unmolded just before serving.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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