Sabzi polo

or, herbs rice

 

1 1/4 cup basmati rice

2 tsp salt

1/2 cup finely chopped green onion

2 cups finely chopped dill

2 cups finely chopped parsley

6 cups finely chopped cilantry

3 tbsp oil

1 small potato, peeled and thinly sliced

3 tbsp water

1 cup greek yogurt

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp olive oil

Rinse and soak rice 1-2 hours.

Put rice and soaking liquid in a pot; add a little extra water so rice is covered. Boil, simmer 1 min, then add onions and herbs and stir. Simmer 1-2 minutes, not until the rice is done. Set aside.

Rinse and dry the pot. Pour in oil, heat over medium, fry potato slices just about 2 min to get a little color. Cool.

Drizzle 2 tbsp water over potatoes, then put the rice on top of them in a centralish heap. Try to keep the rice from touching the sides of the pot. Then make 5 holes in this heap, down to the potatoes, to be little chimneys.

Drizzle rice with a little oil and 1 tbsp water, reduce to low, cover, cook 20 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered for another 20 minutes to continue steaming on residual heat.

Mix yogurt and sour cream. Fold in olive oil but don't fully mix. Serve with rice.

Source: Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Dan's note: there's some magic to the rice cooking here; mine keeps burning so I have to add more water. Also, the middle eastern store near us sells Sabzi Polo frozen herbs so I've made it with that a couple times to save a lot of time chopping herbs.