Lisa (Melbourne)

Lisa is a home-cook with a fondness for fusion dishes.   Having travelled extensively, Lisa has been inspired by many locations and cooking cultures. From the hills of Mongolia to the tourist hotbed of Venice, she’s always searching for new culinary adventures. Here’s one of her favourite rice dishes:

Rice With Parsley, Almonds, And Apricots

“This recipe is healthy and filling. It’s adapted from a Croatian dish that I discovered on a recent holiday. I have an intolerance to garlic, which can be a real problem when travelling, especially with language barriers and different customs. This dish originally has garlic, which compliments the lemon and parsley, but it tastes great without! ”  

Ingredients

• 1 cup skin-on almonds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup Taj Premium Basmati Rice
• 1 3×1-inch strip lemon zest
• ⅓ cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 cups chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

 

Method

Preheat oven to 300°. Toss almonds with oil on a small rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Let cool, then chop. Meanwhile, rinse rice in several changes of water until water runs clear. Bring rice, lemon zest, and 1½ cups water to a boil in a small saucepan; season with salt. Reduce heat, cover pan, and simmer until rice is tender, 18–20 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover, and scatter apricots over rice. Cover; let sit 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, then mix in almonds, parsley, and lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt if needed.