This baked rice is perfect for any alliums you might have hanging out on your counter (garlic, shallots, onions, etc) and leftover stems from parsley or cilantro. Roasting them together with cherry tomatoes creates a jammy and delicious base for this perfumed dish.
Everything comes together in one pan and makes for a perfect side to bring to a potluck or BBQ. I love making lamb chops or kabobs to serve with this, and a tzatziki or romesco. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
Makes 3 cups of rice
- 1 lb whole cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- Handful of chopped stems from cilantro and/or parsley
- 10 cloves of garlic, crushed and removed from skin
- 4 shallots, quartered (or a red or yellow onion, quartered)
- 1 ½ cups long grained rice, like jasmine or basmati
- 2 ½ cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock (or water)
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Zest from 1 lemon
- ½ cup chopped parsley or cilantro, to garnish
- Fresh cracked pepper and salt, to taste
Steps
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Toss cherry tomatoes, cilantro and/or parsley stems, garlic, and shallots or alliums of choice in an 8x13 baking dish with olive oil, salt, and cracked pepper to taste
- Bake for 50 minutes uncovered, or until garlic is golden and tomatoes are beginning to wrinkle and split
- Remove from oven and increase temperature to 450 degrees
- Sprinkle rice directly atop the tomatoes, and promptly follow with boiling stock, cumin, and lemon zest.
- Tightly cover pan with foil and return to oven, baking for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes (this will finish steaming the rice)
- Fluff and garnish with fresh chopped herbs, and additional salt and pepper to taste
