Rice Pilaf: The Palestinian Method

Ingredients

• 400 g basmati rice (long-grain), washed until water runs clear, then soaked minimum 30 minutes
• 700 ml spiced stock, chicken or vegetable
• 30 g butter or neutral oil
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp fine salt
• For the topping
• 2 large onions, halved and finely sliced
• 100 ml neutral oil, for shallow-frying the onions
• 1 tsp sumac, tossed through the fried onions
• 50 g pine nuts or blanched almonds, toasted separately

Method

1. 1
   Wash the rice in several changes of cold water, working the grains gently with the hand, until the water runs clear, so the surface starch that would otherwise glue the cooked grains together is carried away in the cloudy water. Cover with fresh cold water and soak for a minimum of 30 minutes — the grain will visibly swell and the soaking water will be only faintly cloudy — so the centre of each grain is already softened before it meets the heat, giving you an even cook rather than a hard core inside a tender shell. Drain thoroughly.
2. 2
   Warm the butter or oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium flame, add the drained rice, and stir to coat every grain with the fat, so each grain is sealed against the stock and will absorb it gradually rather than turning immediately sodden. Add the allspice, cinnamon, and salt, and continue stirring for 1 to 2 minutes until the rice turns faintly opaque and a faint toasty scent rises from the pan, telling you the spices have bloomed in the fat and their fragrance is carried into the grain rather than sitting raw on the surface.
3. 3
   Pour in the measured spiced stock and bring to a full boil without stirring, so the starch released in the first rush of heat sets the grains in place and they do not clump together as they cook. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting, cover the pan tightly, and cook undisturbed until the surface shows small steam holes and all visible liquid has been absorbed — approximately 12 minutes — removing the lid before this point would bleed off the steam pressure that is driving heat evenly through the grains.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies: remove the pan from the heat, lay a clean folded cloth or kitchen towel across the top of the pan, and replace the lid firmly over it, so the towel intercepts the condensation that would otherwise drip back down onto the surface and compress the top layer of grains into a wet mass. Leave to steam-finish undisturbed for 10 minutes — this is the difference between fluffy, separate grains and a claggy, compressed surface.
5. 5
   While the rice rests, heat the frying oil in a wide pan over a medium-high flame, add the sliced onions in a single layer, and fry, stirring occasionally, until deep mahogany and fully crisped at the edges — they must reach this point in the pan, because they will not crisp further once removed from the heat. Lift them with a slotted spoon onto paper, season immediately, and toss at once with the sumac so the sumac clings while the onions are still warm and slightly tacky rather than falling away from a cool, dry surface.
6. 6
   In a dry pan over a medium flame, toast the pine nuts or almonds, moving them constantly so the heat reaches every surface and they colour evenly rather than scorching on one side while remaining pale on the other. Remove from the heat the moment they turn golden and fragrant, because they continue to cook in their own residual warmth and will pass from golden to bitter in less time than it takes to look away.
7. 7
   Uncover the rice, fluff gently with a fork, and turn onto a serving dish. Scatter the sumac-stained crispy onions and the toasted nuts over the surface at the moment of service only, so they arrive at the table with their crunch intact — added even minutes earlier, the steam rising from the rice beneath would soften them into the very texture you worked to avoid.