BARBERRY PILAF - PILAF AUX BARBERRIES

People who know me must have gathered by now that I very much enjoy the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. The incredible flavors as well as the ingredients used set my soul on fire and I really love the way that food is prepared. In those regions of the world, the dishes have this special holiday feel that brings sunshine and happiness to the table...

Lately, I have invested in two magnificent cookery books on the foods of Turkey, Lebanon and Morocco (Claudia Roden's gorgeous cookbook "Arabesque", Greg Malouf's fabulous "Turquoise - A Chef's Travel In Turkey" & Nevin Halici's "Turkish Cookbook"). In autumn 2009, Tobias at "Tobias Cooks" even sent me a superb Turkish cookbook (“Turkish Cooking: Classic Traditions, Fresh Ingredients, Authentic Flavours, Aromatic Recipes” by Ghillie Basan) that I won thanks to my "Stuffed Quinces" recipe and also thanks to all the people who voted for me (thanks!). I can never have to many cookbooks on the subject.

Nowadays, I cook at least one or two Middle Eastern/Mediterranean dishes a month. That kind of food is so fine that I could feed on it on a daily basis. Just to think about it makes me drool and crave the exhaliratig flavors of cumin, allspice, sumac, cinnamon, rose water, tahini, spinach, pine nuts, chickpeas, fresh flat bread, eggplants, tomatoes, lamb, oregano, dill, coriander, etc... I now have an irrepressible need to take a trip to my favorite Lebanese (Goodtaste, 2 chemin sur Grosse, 01210 ferney Voltaire, France) and Balkanic (Shala Mutimarché, 83 rue de Lyon, 1203 Genève) foodstores and raid both of them!

So, last Saturday, I decided to make one of my favorite Lebanese-inspired dishes that consists of fluffy "Barberry Pilaf" served with fried fish or chicken breasts (this time I opted for chicken) and a wonderfully creamy tahini (I'm addicted to it) pomegranate sauce. It is a meal we appreciate a lot and which I cook on a regular basis.

Baberry fruits grow on spiny shrubs of the genus Berberis. Several varieties exist and depending on the variety, the fruits may vary in color from black or purple to white or yellow. Of all the barberries, the common barberry or the jaundice berry is most commonly eaten. This fruit is native to Europe and temperate Asia. It is grown in many parts of the globe, but Iran is the largest producer of zereshk (barberries) in the world.

Barberries are quite acidic and very rich in vitamin C. They somehow remind me of cranberries with their sharp taste and tart flavor. You probably wouldn't want to eat them fresh out of hand. In the past, the fruits were usually preserved with some sort of sweetener to make preserves, jellies, preserves, and syrup, or were candied. They were also prepared as a pickle in vinegar, and used in pies and other baked goods. Now, we generally find them dried and we use them much like we use dried currants.

Although you can find many recipes for "Barberry Pilaf" the recipe I am sharing with you today is the product of my own imagination. I came up with that recipe when i wanted to make a use of my barberries and thze Gulf spice mix that Corinnne (thanks, I need more LOL !!!) had kindly given me.

The Basmati rice has a wonderful round flavor and refined fragrance thanks to the spices, onion and garlic. It is perfectly well-balanced. The addition of barberries brings an interesting and contrasting tang to the whole dish. Delightful!

~ Barberry Pilaf ~
Recipe by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2010.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tsp Baharat spice mix (Gulf-style)
3/4 Tsp Ground cumin
1/4 Tsp Ground cinnamon
4 Tbs Dried barberries
280g Basmati rice
530ml/g Water
1 Cube Organic chicken stock
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
30g Unsalted butter

Method:
1. In a large pan, fry the onion and garlic in oil until soft, golden and transclucid (onion).
2. While the onions and garlic and frying, wash the basmati rice under cold water, until the water is clear. Strain well and set aside.
3. Add the spices to the onion in the pan and stir fry them until fragrant (1 minute max).
4. Add the water, cube chicken stock rice and barberries. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Over high heat, stir constantly and bring to the boil.
6. Once it boils, lower the temperature (lowest possible) and cover with a lid.
7. Cook with the lid on for 12 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the rice rest for another 12 minutes with the lid on (see remarks).
8. Lift the lid, add a little butter and stir delicately with a fork.
9. Serve.

Remarks:
When making Basmati rice (point 7), always keep in mind that you have to use the same recipient to measure the rice and water (2x recipient of rice for 3 1/2 x recipient of water). The recipient I used for this recipe had a 3/4 cup capacity (2 x 3/4 cup of rice for 31/2 x 3/4 cup of water).
When the rice is cooking or resting DO NOT lift the lid (or stir the rice), otherwise you'll liberate the steam and will end up with a badly cooked rice as well as mush.

Serving suggestions:
Serve this rice as an accompaniment to meat (steak, chicken breasts, duck leg/breast, lamb roast, roasted turkey, game, etc...) or fish (friend or steamed).
I recommend you to serve both the meat/fish and rice with a tahini sauce called "Tarator" or with the cooked version of this sauce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Riz Pilaf Au Barberries ~
Recette par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2010.

Ingrédients:
1 CS d'Huile d'olive
1 Oignon, haché finement
2 Gousses d'ail, hachées finement1
1/2 CC de Baharat (mélange d'épices du Golfe Persique)
3/4 CC de Cumin en poudre
1/4 CC de Cannnelle en poudre
4 CS de Barberries
280g de Riz basmati
530ml/g d'Eau
1 Cube de Bouillon de poule bio
Sel, à volonté
Poivre, à volonté
30g de Beurre non-salé

Méthode:
1. Dans une grande casserole, faire revenir l'oignon et l'ail jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient dorés et cuits.
2. Pendant que l'oignon et l'ail sont mis à frire, rinser le riz jusqu'à ce que l'eau devienne claire. Faire bien égoutter et mettre de côté.
3. Ajouter les épices et faire cuire tout en remuant pendant 1 minute afin que les arômes se libèrent.
4. Ajouter l'eau, le cube de bouillon, les barberries et le riz. Saler et poivrer. Mélanger.
5. Augmenter la température et porter à ébullition tout en remuant.
6. Baisser immédiatement la température et mettre le couvercle sur la casserole.
7. Cuire pendant 12 minutes (avec le couvercle), puis éteindre le feu et laisser reposer encore 12 minutes avec le couvercle (voir remarques).
8. Ajouter le beurre et mélanger délicatement à l'aide d'une fourchette.
9. Servir.

Remarques:
Il y a une règle simple pour réussir ce riz: utilisez le même récipient pour mesurer le riz et l'eau (2x récipient de riz pour 3 1/2 x récipients d'eau). Pour cette recette, j'ai utilisé un récipient ayant une contenance de 180ml (2 x récipient de 180ml de riz pour 3 1/2 x récipient de 180ml).
Durant la cuisson du riz (point 7), NE SOULEVEZ EN AUCUN CAS le couvercle (et ne mélangez en aucun cas le riz) autrement votre riz le pourra plus cuire correctement car l'intérieur de la casserole aura perdu sa vapeur.

Idées de présentation:
Servir ce riz en tant qu'accompagnement.
Il se marie parfaitement avec de la viande (steak, filet de poulet, magret/cuisse de canard, dinde cuite au four, rôti d'agneau, venaison, etc...) ou du poisson (grillé ou cuit à la vapeur).
Je vous recommande vivement de servir la viande/le poisson ainsi que ce riz avec de la sauce au tahini (pâte de sésame) appelée "Tarator" ou avec la version cuite de cette sauce.