Turkish-style Rice is a traditional Turkish recipe, for a classic accompaniment of rice cooked with fried orzo pasta. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Turkish version of: Turkish-style Rice.
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This is the recipe for classic Turkish rice (sometimes known as vermicelli rice), here I’m using a blend of rice and orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta). I started making this rice as my wife’s a fan of orzo. Note that traditionally, Turkish rice is prepared with short-grain Baldo rice; though these days basmati is now becoming almost as common.
Ingredients:
240g basmati rice, I use sella type
2 tbsp olive oil, (or butter)
3 tbsp orzo pasta
450ml water
1 tbsp butter
salt, to taste
Method:
Wash the rice well by rinsing the in several changes of fresh water until the water no longer immediately becomes very cloudy. Drain. This removes the excess starch, giving you fluffier rice.
Add the olive oil or butter to a pan set over medium/low heat. Stir in the dry pasta, frying until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Add the rice and ½ tsp salt, then pour over the water. Put a lid on the pan, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Simmer and leave to cook for 12 minutes.
Take off the heat and set aside (without taking the lid off) to steam 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 serve, fluff the rice with a fork, adding more salt if necessary. For a more buttery flavour, mix in another tablespoon of butter just prior to serving.
