How do you turn rice from what’s normally a side dish into the centerpiece of a meal? Spanish Paella comes to mind. Last week, Yotam Ottolenghi published a spiced maqluba with tomatoes and tahini sauce recipe on the New York Times. Maqluba is a traditional Middle Eastern upside-down rice cake with tomatoes on top. It could be a showcase dish served on special occasions with plenty of meat, nuts and dried fruits. Ottolenghi’s recipe has a vegan take, layering tomatoes, with caramelized onion and spiced rice and a handful of lentils. It’s a feast with basmati rice taking the center stage.
Cooking rice to the right texture is a huge challenge. For me, not relying on a rice cooker to cook rice with AI assistance is like driving a car without automatic transmission. It’s a struggle. I contemplated cheating by way of the rice cooker. But this maqluba recipe has no room for cheaters. There are so many layers to build, for flavor as well as texture, until the final step of one-pot cooking on the stove. There is very little choice but to follow the recipe as written. Thank goodness, Ottolenghi has thoroughly tested out the rice formula and the process. Taking a leap of faith with him over my shoulder is, well, easier, but not without trepidation.
There are important steps in this recipe that you should not overlook. First, the choice of the saucepan to use for the rice cake. A 10-inch wide saucepan with straight sides and a lid is what Ottolenghi specifies. Since I don’t have exactly that, I used a 9-inch cast-iron pan with tapered sides. Close enough. It’s important because you have to flip the pan onto a platter like unmolding an upside-down cake. Next, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Again, the piece of parchment paper eases the unmolding, which can be tricky. Finally, the inverting the rice cake. I paced around the kitchen for quite a while before I gathered enough fortitude to face what I thought could be a flop, not a flip.
Arrange tomatoes on the bottom of the parchment-lined pan.
Layer the cooked onions on top of the tomatoes.
Spoon the rice mixture over the onions.
Smooth the rice so the surface is flat.
Cover the pot with a tea towel and the lid.
Invert the rice cake onto a platter and peel off the parchment paper.
The texture of the rice was quite loose. They were not sticking together like that of a cake. Somehow, the unmolding reviewed a slightly charred and beautiful maqluba. What a relief!
Who can forget the glorious flavor? The warm spices of cardamom, all spice and turmeric in the rice balance remarkably well with the tomatoes and caramelized onions. I absolutely adore this spiced maqluba with tomatoes and tahini sauce dish. Another huge winner from Yotam Ottolenghi.
Spiced Maqluba With Tomatoes and Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- Scant 1/2 cup/80 grams brown lentils
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 ¼ cups/220 grams basmati rice
- Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- 2 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons finely minced or pressed garlic
- 5 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 loosely packed cup/10 grams parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons/75 milliliters olive oil, more for greasing
- 1 ¼ pound/500 grams onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 beefsteak tomatoes (about 1 1/3 pounds/600 grams total), cut into 1-inch-/3-centimeter-thick rounds (or use cherry tomatoes, halved)
- Scant 1/2 cup/100 grams tahini
- A handful of crispy shallots, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Cook the lentils and rice: In a medium saucepan, combine lentils with 1 quart/1 liter cold water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to keep temperature low, then stir in rice. Simmer for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through. (The rice won’t be ready at this stage.)
Combine with the herbs and spices: Drain the lentil and rice mixture very well. Stir in lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, cardamom, allspice, turmeric, half of the parsley, plenty of pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Mix to combine and set aside.
Sweat the onions: Meanwhile, in a large nonstick frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onions, 3/4 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper and cook, stirring, until soft and well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Prepare a 10-inch pan: Using olive oil, grease a 10-inch-/25-centimeter-wide saucepan with straight sides and a lid. Line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper.
Layer the rice cake: In a bowl, toss tomatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper and then arrange them flat on the bottom of the pan. (If using cherry tomatoes, lay the cut sides down.) Layer the cooked onions on top and then spoon the rice mixture over the onions, smoothing it down so the surface is flat. Using a skewer, poke about 6 holes in the rice and then sprinkle the surface with 2 tablespoons water.
Cook the rice cake: Place the pan over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pan with a clean tea towel followed by the lid and then cook for 15 minutes, until rice is barely cooked. (Take care that the towel edges are held safely over the lid so they don’t catch fire!) Check after 10 minutes to make sure the pan is not dry; add a little water if needed. Set pan aside for at least 20 minutes (with the lid and tea towel left on); residual heat will finish the cooking.
Make the tahini sauce: While rice rests, make tahini sauce: In a bowl, combine tahini with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of garlic, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup/90 milliliters of water. Whisk until smooth and creamy and set aside.
Flip the rice cake: When ready to serve, remove the lid and tea towel and then cover the top of the pan with a large platter. With one hand on the pan and the other holding the platter, invert the dish so that the top of the rice is now the base of the maqluba on the platter (like unmolding an upside-down cake). Tap the bottom of the pan a few times to help the tomatoes ease off the bottom. Peel off and discard the paper.
Serve hot, with shallots and remaining parsley sprinkled on top. Pass tahini sauce at the table.
Notes
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019228-spiced-maqluba-with-tomatoes-and-tahini-sauce
7 Comments
Lydia Filgueras
March 28, 2018 at 12:58 pmHoly cow is that gorgeous! I can imagine it with pretty heirloom tomatoes or colorful cherry tomatoes. This is something we would love to eat.
Shirley@EverOpenSauce
March 28, 2018 at 2:41 pmOther than the spices, rice, tomatoes and onions are everyday ingredients we have around to make this. Just make time for it.
Claire
March 29, 2018 at 8:47 amThat’s what I was thinking! A perfect showpiece for someone who grows their own -a feat here in the UK! I don’t…but my friend does!😈
Diane Zwang
April 5, 2018 at 12:05 amIt looks like it came out perfect. I feel the same way you do about my rice cooker. I should start cooking from Yotam more often.
betsy
April 8, 2018 at 8:42 pmWow! That looks so amazing. I can’t wait to try it.
Shirley@EverOpenSauce
April 9, 2018 at 12:26 amI’m delighted to hear that coming from someone with a refined palate.
Turmeric Rice With Tomatoes | Ottolenghi - Ever Open Sauce
June 15, 2021 at 11:45 am[…] has built up. The method works really well. I have made rice this way in his other rice recipe: spiced maqluba with tomatoes, which is a magnificent and glorious dish all its […]