Roasted Garlic, Cheese & Herb Baked Rice

This is not your every day, throw-in-the-oven-rather-than-on-the-stovetop rice. My inspiration for this dish is Tah Chin, a Persian rice pilaf that layers saffron rice with chicken and bakes it to perfection. The rice is bound with yoghurt and egg yolks and during its slow-baking process forms this beautiful crust where it hits the baking dish, not wholly unlike soccarat (which is the crusty layer found at the bottom or paella). Suffice it to say, I veered a bit off of tradition with this version….

Many of the items are similar to the original – the long grain rice (though trying this with Valencia or Bomba rice sounds pretty alluring), saffron, yoghurt and egg yolks. But that is where it ends! I leave out the chicken and created this to be an easy (and slightly more elegant…) substitute for mac n’ cheese, a lovely casserole side. Thus, I included some butter and crème fraiche for richness and tang, some cheeses for good measure, roasted garlic and herbs for depth of flavor.

It was truly an experiment, and I love the result…First of all, it’s beautiful! I plan to just leave the cutting board and knife out for people to help themselves at my next dinner party. I warn you, however, to do this as close to serving time as possible. It was all I could do to snap a few pics before my husband hacked off a third of it and ran off! The smell of it drove him mad…the roasted garlic and cheese, creaminess and that crusty layer of rice – amazing. Enjoy!

Ingredient

Yields (1) 9”x13” baking dish

3 cups long grain rice

3 tbsps kosher salt

½ stick unsalted butter

½ cup yoghurt

½ cup crème fraiche

pinch saffron

4 egg yolks

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

¾ cup grated grana padano or parmigiano reggiano cheese

12-13 roasted garlic cloves

¾ cup chopped herbs

freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Rinse the rice in changes of hot water until the water runs clear. In a medium pot, bring 6 cups of water up to a boil. Add 1 ½ tablespoons of the salt and the washed rice. Let cook 6 to 8 minutes (rice should start to soften but still be raw at the center), drain and rinse lightly. Transfer to a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt butter with yoghurt and crème fraiche over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, shut off the heat and add the saffron. Let it bloom for 5 minutes. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Add spoonfuls of the saffron mixture to the egg yolks stirring constantly – you want to bring the egg yolks up to temperature slowly.

To the drained rice, now add the saffron-egg yolk mixture, the cheeses, roasted garlic cloves, chopped herbs, the other 1 ½ tablespoons of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Combine thoroughly.

Grease a 9” x 13” baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Transfer the rice mixture to the baking pan, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour and 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and then loosen the side of the rice from the dish. Turn out onto a cutting board and serve hot in slices or squares as you choose.

Persian Saffron

If you have been reading this blog, it is no secret I’m a huge fan of what I think is one of the more alluring spices out there….saffron. A tiny pinch of these little stigmas from the Crocus flower can completely transform a dish, infusing savoury and sweet foods alike with its intoxicating perfume. For me, saffron represents a childhood memory – the unforgettable taste of seviyan, a sweet pudding made with vermicelli flecked with cardamom and sultanas that was a treat (or special request!) my Mom would make. .

When people think of saffron, there is usually a close association with the Spanish sort. The reality is Kashmiri and certain Italian saffrons, though not marketed as much as Spanish saffron, are the highest quality and the most potent in terms of aroma and color. Persian or Iranian saffron (my saffron of choice) falls in right after these and is as good as (if not better) than the best saffron from Spain.

Anyway you slice it, if you want good saffron, you’re going to have to shell out! Each strand is plucked by hand for goodness sake. But the last thing you want is to spend on a spice and then have it lose its flavor, so I always think about longevity and rationing when buying a spice….The thing that distinguishes Persian saffron is that it has a lower moisture content, which means it keeps for a longer period of time and also crushes easily into a powder (so you can use less). It easily infuses a dish with its color as the small particles disperse more easily.

Although my childhood memory was a sweet saffron dish, here in my recipes, I’ve done nothing but add it to savoury dishes – fried chicken, saffron & roasted garlic spaghetti squash gratin, and shakshuka to name a few (I’m sure there are more). Saffron is often “bloomed” first, soaked in a liquid before being added to a dish. It blooms easily in a warm liquid like milk, cream, or stock as well as alcohol and not as easily in fats like oil or butter. I would love to hear how you incorporate saffron into your dishes so please share!

Saffron Fried Chicken

Is there anything more satisfying than biting into a salty, flavorful, crisp piece of fried chicken? I know I have a particular weakness for the stuff (umm, it’s my post-workout week splurge) and if I head down to visit my family in Florida, driving by a particular chain that starts with a “P” and has the same name as an old children’s cartoon and NOT hitting the drive-thru is next to impossible. Perfecting fried chicken is not easy, and it’s taken me years, a bit of a fried chicken connoisseur myself, to create a recipe that I’m fully happy with. Of course, leaving it well alone is not an option, so I created my own twist with saffron.

A friend of mine gave me this beautiful gift of Persian saffron that I am treasuring and using sparingly. Saffron is used in a lot of Middle Eastern and South Asian marinades, oftentimes with yoghurt, and it complements the flavor of chicken amazingly. Fried chicken was my perfect reason to break into the saffron stash.

So the reality is that there are a few (worthwhile!) steps here. I marinate the chicken in saffron buttermilk that serves to brine the chicken, make it even juicier, and deeply infuse it with all of the marinade ingredients – a pinch of saffron, garlic, a touch of mustard. I then double dip the chicken to create a super-crisp crust, and let it air-dry while the meat loses its chill. Finally, frying at the perfect temperature ensures fried chicken nirvana – crisp, flavorful, aromatic, tender and juicy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 3 to 4 servings

1 (3 to 4 lb) broiler / fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces

Marinade / Brine:

3 cups buttermilk

1 generous pinch saffron

2 eggs

3 cloves garlic

½ tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsps kosher salt

1 tbsp sugar

Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup cornstarch

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsps garlic powder

1 ½ tsps onion powder

1 tsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

Vegetable shortening or oil for frying

Procedure

In a small saucepan, heat a ½ cup of the buttermilk until it comes up to a simmer. Add saffron and switch off heat. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Pour this mixture along with the remaining buttermilk and the rest of the marinade ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Place chicken in a bowl or casserole dish and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24.

In a large bowl, paper or plastic bag, combine the crust ingredients thoroughly. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a colander for a few minutes to drain, reserving the marinade. Dredge or shake chicken pieces individually in the flour mixture and place on a wire rack fitted over a baking sheet.

Dip chicken once more in the marinade, letting any excess drip off. Coat again in the flour mixture and place back on the wire rack. Let chicken sit on the rack for an hour to dry / come up to room temperature.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 350º F. You actually want to fry the chicken at 325º F for the entire time, but the temperature will drop once you add it in. Place chicken in the hot oil and fry for 13 to 17 minutes making sure the temperature stays at 325º F. I like to take the wings out at 13 minutes , and fry the rest between 15 and 17 minutes depending on the size of the pieces and the type of meat. White meat cooks faster than the dark meat, and fatter pieces will cook slower. If the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked through.

Serve hot! It can be held uncovered in a 250º F oven to stay warm, but it’s preferable to serve immediately.

Saffron & Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Saffron, without a doubt, is an expensive spice to work with. I’m a bit of a deal hunter when it comes to it and always search around when I’m traveling to see if I can get it on the cheap. I remember spotting it in the medina in Marrakech for a ridiculously low price and basically carting home a bushel full. It wasn’t incredibly fragrant (and quite frankly the color was off) but eh, it was saffron! It’s been sitting in my spice cabinet ever since – the lousiest, tasteless saffron I’ve ever met…and somehow I still won’t part with it.

The saffron for this dish I picked up during my visit to Mercat de la Boqueria a few months back. I still trekked around to each stall that sold it to make sure I got the cheapest one! Got it right this time. This stuff has an incredible perfume and was beautiful in this dish.

When I dug deep into why I thought spaghetti squash and saffron would pair well together, I realized the mental origin of this dish might seem a bit strange. There’s a South Asian pudding that can be made with either rice or vermicelli called kheer; it’s often scented with saffron. This, to me, was like a savoury version of it.

The saffron, of course, compliments the flavor of the spaghetti squash, which I boost a bit with a touch of brown sugar. The sweet, roasted garlic adds a lovely nuttiness and works incredibly well with the freshly grated parm. I love this dish. It’s a bit sinful, but healthier as far as gratins go since we’re using squash. Cheesy, creamy, nutty with the perfume of saffron – Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 2-quart casserole dish

2 medium-sized spaghetti squash

5 garlic cloves

olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

½ stick butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

¼ cup crème fraiche

generous pinch of saffron

pinch of cayenne

a few dashes of hot sauce

1 ½ tsps light brown sugar

½ cup freshly grated parmesan

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Poke holes with a knife into the spaghetti squash on all sides and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Season garlic cloves with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and wrap separately in foil.

Bake the squash for 1 hour turning every 15 to 20 minutes. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the squash. Let it cool. Split the squash lengthwise (should easily cut) and remove the seeds. The flesh should be easy to pull out – if not, place it cut side up back on the baking sheet and cook for a bit longer. I like to use a fork around the edges to pull out the squash flesh. You want all of it to be separate, like spaghetti. Reserve in a bowl.

Remove the garlic after another 15 minutes or so. It should be soft, caramelized, and smell nutty and fragrant.

Reduce oven to 350° F.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes, whisking continuously. Add milk, crème fraiche, saffron, cayenne, hot sauce and sugar. At this point, you can purée the roasted garlic and add it. I actually just added the cloves right in and used my whisk and the heat to break it up. Continue to whisk and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. It should be at a slow bubble.

Combine béchamel mixture with squash and transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the freshly grated parmesan all over the top, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until brown and bubbly.

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