Cooking rice with green vegetables and herbs is not alien to Turkish cuisine. In her wonderful book, 500 Hundred Years of Ottoman Cuisine, Marianna Yerasimos inform us about a 16th century pilaf recipe called Dane-i Yeşil which is made with spinach, mint, parsley, dill, celery stalks, etc.
My mom wasn't raised up in the palace kitchens, yet years ago she's come up with her own green pilaf recipe. She makes this pilaf whenever we have any kind of white fish for dinner. So within the family it's known as the fish pilaf.
serves 4
1 1/2 cups of white long grain rice
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil (or butter)
1/2 bunch green onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch dill, chopped
2 tbsp fresh or dried mint
1 tbsp green peppercorn
1 tbsp pine nuts
salt
3 cups of water
-Heat oil in a pot. Stir onions, green onions, green peppercorns, and pine nuts. Cook until soft.
-Add rice and mint. Stir for 2-3 minutes.
-Add water (with most rice the ratio of rice to water is 1 to 2) and salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low until rice soaks the water (approximately 20 minutes)
-Turn it off and stir half of dill. Cover the top of the pot with a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel. Place the lid on paper towel and let rice sit for at least 10 minutes before you serve.
-Scatter the rest of dill before you serve.
With all the herbs this recipes is for Kalyn's WHB which is hosted this week by Chris of Mele Cotte.
