Maghrebi-Style Spiced Rice with Vegetables with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 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.

   StovePot
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.

   Stove

   💡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.

   Stove

   💡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.

   Stove

To assemble

1. 6
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
2. 7
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
3. 8
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 9
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
5. 10
   Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, until softened.

   Stove
6. 11
   Add the rice and the turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and paprika and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in tomato.
7. 12
   Add the vegetable stock, season with salt and bring to a boil.

   Stove
8. 13
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 18 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   StoveLid
9. 14
   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.
10. 15
    Gently fluff with a fork and serve.