Potato Saffron rice
Discussion
An unusual little dish that's great with stews and caseroles....
Grind some saffron fronds and infuse in boling water - 5tblsp and about 10 pieces of saffron.
Get some robust roasting spuds, slice quite thickly and par boil until semi-soft (still too hard to mash). Drain and leave in a saucepan of cold water until completely cold. Then pat dry.
Meanwhile cook a robust rice (Long grain is ideal) in water/stock mix until almost completely cooked (centre should still be slightly firm - the rice must not be soft or overcooked) Wash rice in cold water in collinder and leave tilted on side so that as much of the water drains out as possible
Now the fun bit..
Get your best heavy gauge frying pan and heat some good quality olive oil until very hot. Place the potatoes in the oil and leave to fry for several minutes - one side only. Then carefully take a spoon and ladle the rice on top of the potatoes. Place the rice gently into the pan - the idea here is to leave air gaps in the rice so don't pat the rice down! The lighter the touch the better.. When all the rice is in the pan get the back of a wooden spoon and create small holes in the rice mix down to the top level of the potatoes - not the pan, just the top level of the spuds. This helps moisture escape. Then take the saffron mixure and using a teaspoon sprinkle the saffron on the top of the rice in places. This will in effect create a marble saffron/white rice with completely different flavours.
Heat on a moderate heat with the saucepan lid on until the rice starts steaming. Reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for a minimum of 45 minutes - for golden spuds or one hour for deep caramel coloured spuds. Don't take the lid off in the 45 minutes at all. Just leave be.
After an hour just serve in the pan, it taste wonderful.
(I had this at Xmas with a roasted duck and they went very well together)
Riceheads.com - rice matters!
Grind some saffron fronds and infuse in boling water - 5tblsp and about 10 pieces of saffron.
Get some robust roasting spuds, slice quite thickly and par boil until semi-soft (still too hard to mash). Drain and leave in a saucepan of cold water until completely cold. Then pat dry.
Meanwhile cook a robust rice (Long grain is ideal) in water/stock mix until almost completely cooked (centre should still be slightly firm - the rice must not be soft or overcooked) Wash rice in cold water in collinder and leave tilted on side so that as much of the water drains out as possible
Now the fun bit..
Get your best heavy gauge frying pan and heat some good quality olive oil until very hot. Place the potatoes in the oil and leave to fry for several minutes - one side only. Then carefully take a spoon and ladle the rice on top of the potatoes. Place the rice gently into the pan - the idea here is to leave air gaps in the rice so don't pat the rice down! The lighter the touch the better.. When all the rice is in the pan get the back of a wooden spoon and create small holes in the rice mix down to the top level of the potatoes - not the pan, just the top level of the spuds. This helps moisture escape. Then take the saffron mixure and using a teaspoon sprinkle the saffron on the top of the rice in places. This will in effect create a marble saffron/white rice with completely different flavours.
Heat on a moderate heat with the saucepan lid on until the rice starts steaming. Reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for a minimum of 45 minutes - for golden spuds or one hour for deep caramel coloured spuds. Don't take the lid off in the 45 minutes at all. Just leave be.
After an hour just serve in the pan, it taste wonderful.
(I had this at Xmas with a roasted duck and they went very well together)
Riceheads.com - rice matters!
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