Syrian Ouzi Beef Rice

I love this recipe from An Edible Mosaic and so did my family, especially my 18-year old son, who keeps asking for it. The recipe is supposed to be made with ground lamb, but I can never find it here, so I finally just made it with ground beef. I was glad I did. If I ever do find ground lamb, I'll try it, but it's so good with beef. I made my own spice mix for this, from the same blog/cookbook, and I'll list that recipe here too. We always have this with roasted cauliflower- so good. I've used Northwoods Fire or Garlic Salt from Penzey's on the cauliflower. The original recipe cooks the meat first, then the rice. When I make this, I start the rice first, since it takes longer. Then start the meat, and hopefully, they are done at about the same time. 

Syrian Ouzi Beef Rice  

adapted from An Edible Mosaic 

Topping/Garnish:

1/2 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
6 tablespoons blanched almonds or pine nuts
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, optional

Rice:

3 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 1/2 cups basmati rice soaked in water for 10-15 minutes, then rinsed under cool running water in a fine mesh sieve and drained well
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
4 pods cardamom cracked open
2 whole cloves
1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
1 tablespoon 7-spice mix, see below

1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups chicken stock 

Plain yogurt, for serving

Lamb (Or Beef):

1 pound ground lamb or 85% lean ground beef; if you use leaner meat, add 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
4 large cloves garlic crushed
1 tablespoon 7-spice mix, see below
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

For the Topping: Preheat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the ghee/oil; once melted, stir in the nuts. Cook until the nuts are golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring often. They can burn easily. Remove the nuts from the heat and transfer them from the skillet to a paper towel-lined plate to cool.

For the Rice:Preheat a 4 to 5-quart non-stick pot over medium heat. Add the ghee/oil; once melted, add the onion. Cook until the onion is softened but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rice and cook 1 minute, and then stir in the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cloves, and cook 30 seconds. Stir in the peas and carrots, 7-spice mix, salt, Aleppo pepper, and turmeric. Add the chicken stock, and stir it briefly (try for just one stir!). Let it come up to a gentle boil. Cover the pot, turn the heat down to low, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes (don’t open the lid during this time). Remove from the heat, let the rice sit (covered) for 10 minutes, and then fluff it with a fork.

For the Lamb: Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lamb/beef (and oil/ghee if using) and use a wooden spoon to break up the meat in the skillet. Stir in the onion. Cook until the meat is browned and the onion is softened, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break the meat into smaller crumbles. Turn the heat down to medium, stir in the garlic, and cook 30 seconds. Stir in the 7-spice mix, salt, and Aleppo pepper, and remove from the heat. Cover the skillet and set it aside for now.

To Serve:If the meat cooled too much, reheat it for a couple minutes on the stovetop. Transfer the fluffed rice to a large serving platter and top with the meat, nuts, and parsley. Serve. (I just put both pots on the table/counter and let everyone dish up rice, then meat on their own plates.) 

7-Spice Mix 

adapted from An Edible Mosaic

1/2 tablespoon black pepper 

1/2 tablespoon allspice 

1 teaspoon sweet paprika 

3/4 teaspoon coriander 

3/4 teaspoon cumin 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Mix all spices together and store in a spice container. (Pictured below.)

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **