Orange rice with tahin & yoghurt sauce
topped with roasted veggies and dukkah
December. Oranges are in season! The perfect moment to try out new things with this juicy fruit. So I came up with the idea of boiling rice in orange juice, accompanied with some winter spices. And trust me, it’s a game changer! To keep the Arab vibes going, serve it with a nice platter of tahin & yoghurt sauce, topped with seasonal roasted veggies and Dukkah. This time, I did some Brussel Sprouts and a leftover fennel I found in the fridge.
Ingredients
400 gr white rice
900 ml orange juice (2 kg of oranges if using fresh)
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
1 kg of veggies (I used Brussel sprouts and fennel this time)
2 onions (shallot, white or red)
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp ground koriander seeds
3 tsp fennel seeds
300 gr greek yoghurt
2 tbs tahin
1 lemon
1 handful of nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, etc.)
Fresh mint and parsley for garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 210 ‘C. Then start with the rice. In a sieve, rinse off the rice under cold running water. This removes some of the starch and will result in a more fluffy rice. Place the rice in a pot together with the orange juice, cinnamon stick, star anise and a large pinch of salt. Cover with the lid and stir every few minutes until the rice is cooked (add a splash more water or juice if needed). Then turn off the heat and keep covered with the lid until serving.
Chop up the veggies and onions to the size that you wish and spread on a large baking tray. Mix with 2 tsp each of the ground cumin, ground koriander and fennel seeds. Also add some oil and salt. Mix up, then roast in the oven for around 20-25 minutes, depending on the veggies that you use.
In the meantime, mix the yoghurt with the tahin, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1 tsp each of the ground cumin & koriander, salt and pepper. Toast the nuts and 1 tsp of fennel seeds in a pan, then smash up in a pestle & mortar (or chop up finely). Mix with 1 tsp each of the ground cumin and koriander, and a pinch of salt.
Serve up by topping a large plate of the tahin & yoghurts sauce with the roasted veggies. Finish off with the fresh herbs and dukkah and serve with the beautiful orange rice. Finito!