26 March 2020

Persian rice


...is very nice.

With home-cooked meals on the table every night, I've been varying cuisines, veering from my usual repertoire of what I call "Mediterranean French," influenced by much time spent in the South of France, living in Spain and of course, my father, who loved to cook - and loved to cook Caribbean rice, its crisp gratin at the bottom of the pot the most coveted bit.

Back when I was at college in the U.S. a group of Iranian students, homesick for their favorite dishes, would get together and prepare feasts almost every week, and no matter what else appeared on the table - exotic salads, roasted meats, flatbreads from scratch - one dish, Tahdig, was always present, and always stood out. Fast forward to Paris, and for this crunchy buttery rice dish I took the liberty of adding dillweed, an ingredient whose odor brings back a flood of memories associated with those days, and with this cuisine. On this night, the rice paired perfectly with caramelized souris d'agneau (below - click to enlarge), chopped parsley salad and a full-bodied AOC Côte du Rhône. - BPJ



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Recipes in April newsletter

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