Mom's Jeweled Moroccan Rice

Posted by amanda in ethnic food, fruit, recipe, rice, side, vegetarian

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Photograph: Suat Eman

Potlucks for the win. My friends love to throw a cheap girls night with a smorgasbord of delicious food, and this rice dish trumps potato salad and tortilla chips every time. It makes a statement at a sit down dinner as well, complementing everything from grilled fish to sweet roasted meats, to salads to your favorite white wine. Personally, I love it on its own, or even, gasp, for breakfast: the fruity sweet kick of the dried fruit plus the satisfying feeling of hot rice does it for me every time. Try it out on your friends: it's so pretty, they'll never guess how easy it was.

Serves 4

4 cups cooked rice (your favorite kind. Certain rices will turn out a much chewier dish (hear me rice-for-breakfast lovers), while others will result in drier, more dinner appropriate dishes. Really, it's just a good excuse to try this dish several times :) Of course, consistency will also vary according to how much water you cook your rice in)

1tbsp olive oil

1 cup dried fruit (apricots, raisins, dates...dried cranberries make a great tart addition as well)

.5 tsp cinnamon (because it's so good for you, throw in a little extra if you love cinnamon as much as I do)

.5tsp ginger

.5tsp cumin

.5tsp salt

slivered almonds toasted

optional: garnish with toasted coconut

• cut fruit to size of raisins
• soak all fruits in hot water
• in a non stick frying pan, sautee rice in oil
• add spices, stir well
• add fruit and .25cup of fruit water
• warm through
• stir in toasted almonds
• garnish with coconut if desired

Serve however you like, hot, cold, or somewhere in the middle