Pine Nut Saffron Pilaf Food

WILD RICE PILAF WITH NUTS AND LEMON

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts, garlic, zest, and thyme, swirl the pan until the nuts and garlic are beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the wild rice and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute tops. Stir in the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check the texture of the rice and, if needed, continue simmering until tender. Add more liquid as needed, another 10 to 15 minutes. (Note: The rice should only just begin to crack when done. If it begins to curl it is overcooked. There are numerous varieties of varying qualities, which affect cooking times greatly.)
• Remove from the heat, scatter the scallions over the surface, fluff with a fork, and remove the herb sprigs and lemon zest before serving. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.

RICE WITH TOASTED PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Spread pine nuts on baking sheet and bake in oven set at 350 degrees until golden brown. Melt butter in saucepan. Add onion and saute until softened. Add rice and stir until coated with butter. Add water, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Continue to cook until water absorbs and rice is light and fluffy, about 20 minutes. Toss in pine nuts and serve.

SAFFRON RICE PILAF (RIZ AU SAFRAN)

Steps:

• Stir the saffron into 2 tablespoons hot water in a bowl, and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed ovenproof pan. Add the onion and pine nuts, and cook over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the nuts are fragrant and beginning to change color. Lower the heat, and stir in the rice. Add the saffron and its water, the nutmeg, the bay leaf, the salt, freshly ground pepper to taste, and 2 cups water.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff the rice with a fork, removing the bay leaf. Taste, and adjust the seasoning. Serve warm.

SAFFRON SCENTED CHICKEN PILAF

Steps:

• Marinate the chicken pieces in the yogurt, lemon and cinnamon for about an hour. Soak the saffron threads in the chicken stock.
• Over medium heat, in a large pan with a lid, melt the butter along with 1 tablespoon oil and add the rice, stirring it to coat until glossy. Pour in the saffron and chicken stock, add the cardamom pods, lemon juice and zest and bring the pan to the boil, then clamp on a lid and turn the heat down to very low. Cook like this for about 10-15 minutes, by which time the rice should have absorbed the liquid and be cooked through.
• While the rice is cooking, shake the excess yogurt marinade off the chicken using a sieve. Then fry the meat in a hot pan with the remaining spoonful or so of oil, and do this in batches so that the chicken colours rather than just pallidly stews to cookedness.
• When the rice is cooked, take it off the heat and fork through the pan-bronzed chicken pieces. Toast all the nuts except the pistachios, by simply shaking them in an oil-less frying-pan over a medium heat until they colour and begin to give off their waxy scent, and then add them to the pilaf along with the chopped parsley. Pile everything on to a plate and add a fabulously green sprinkling of slivered or roughly chopped pistachios.

PINE NUT-SAFFRON PILAF

Steps:

• Heat the EVOO in a sauce pot over medium heat. Add the nuts and toast until lightly golden, then remove and reserve.
• Melt the butter in the pot, then add the broken pasta and toast to golden. Stir in the saffron and rice, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, stir in the raisins, then cover and simmer for 17 to 18 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta and rice are tender.
• Fluff the pilaf with a fork and stir in the reserved nuts. Serve immediately.

SAFFRON-SCENTED COUSCOUS WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• bring broth, 2 tablespoons butter, saffron, and 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt to boil in heavy large saucepan, stirring to melt butter.
• Remove from heat. Mix in couscous. Cover and let stand until all liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender, about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork. Mix in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and half of green onions and nuts. Seanson to taste with salt and pepper. Mound in bowl. Sprinkle with remaining green onions and nuts.