Maghrebi-Style Spiced Rice with Vegetables

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear, soak 20 minutes and drain.

   Colander

   💡Rinsing removes the starch from the surface of the grains: the rice comes out fluffy and separate, not sticky.

   💡Soaking shortens the cooking, and the grains cook evenly.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion and carrot and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 5
   Add the pepper and fry about 3 minutes, stirring, until it softens.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

To assemble

1. 6
   Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, until softened.

   Stove
2. 7
   Add the rice and the turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and paprika and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in tomato.
3. 8
   Add the vegetable stock, season with salt and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 9
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 18 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 10
   Turn off the heat and leave covered 5–10 minutes.

   💡Don't open the lid during cooking: the steam is what cooks the top layer. A towel between the pot and the lid absorbs the drips, so the rice doesn't get soggy.
6. 11
   Gently fluff with a fork and serve.