Savory Rice

Years ago a friend made wonderful dishes from Morocco, France and Israel which I fell in love with. Unfortunately she always tried to protect her secret recipes. The years since she has passed I have been trying to recreate some of those dishes with limited success. A co-worker familiar with the region has been trying to steer me in the right direction. Since the spices in many of these dishes are very different from what I have been serving the family, I’m trying to introduce the “new spices” to the family in hopes I can introduce some of the dishes I have been missing.

I didn’t warn the family. I just started to toss stuff into a pot for dinner. Last nights creation was met with mixed reviews. My daughter tired and ate some. My son refused because there was stuff in his rice. Their father said it was tasty but he could not tell which region it was from.

Savory Rice

2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
½ c chopped onion
½ c chopped carrots
1 pinch savory
2 dashes cardamom
2 dashes all spice
2 dashes black pepper
1 c short grain rice
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 c water

• Sauté garlic and onion in oil until almost transparent,
• Stir in carrots and spices,
• Stir in rice and warm through,
• Add water, cover and bring to a boil,
• Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.