Turkish rice

• portions: 4 servings
• temps total: 30 minutes

Ingrédients

240 g basmati rice (I use sella type)

2 Tbsp olive oil (I use a mild extra virgin or butter)

3 Tbsp orzo pasta (risoni/arpa şehriye or broken vermicelli pasta, tel şehriye)

450 ml water

1 Tbsp butter (optional)

salt

Instructions

Rinse the rice in several changes of fresh water until the water no longer immediately becomes very cloudy (see text above). Drain.

Add the olive oil or butter to a pot set over medium/low heat. Add the pasta. Fry until light brown, stirring regularly. Add the rice and ½ tsp salt. Add the water. Put a lid on, bring to the boil and turn the heat down to low. Leave to cook for 12 minutes.

Take off the heat and leave (without taking the lid off) for 20-30 minutes, or as long as you can bear to wait. For a buttery rice, quickly add 1 Tbsp butter as you take the rice off the heat, closing the lid immediately to ensure as little steam as possible escapes.

When ready to eat, fluff the rice up with a fork, adding more salt if necessary. For a more buttery flavour, mix in another tablespoon of butter just prior to serving.