A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
“Yes?” says Ove.
The older girl looks guarded. She hands him a plastic container. Ove reluctantly accepts it. It’s warm.
“Rice!” the three-year-old girl announces happily, briskly getting to her feet.
“With saffron. And chicken,” explains the seven-year-old, far more wary of him.
Ove evaluates them suspiciously.
“Are you selling it?”
The seven-year old looks offended.
“We LIVE HERE, you know!”
Ove was silent for a moment. Then he nods, as if he might possibly be able to accept this premise as an explanation.
“Okay.”
The younger one also nods with satisfaction and flaps her slightly-too-long sleeves.
“Mum said you were ‘ungry!”
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman pg 21
Hunger comes in a lot of forms. Even a curmudgeon as bitter as Ove has soft spots to unearth when someone can see a heart of gold beneath a sheath of hunger for acceptance, value, and family.
This guy Fredrik is a wizard with characters and so skilled in probing these fictional pasts and personalities unearthing what makes the characters who they now are. Everyone has a story, and let’s let them own it. Parvaneh, the maker of aforementioned chicken and rice, is fabulous and everyone deserves a friend or neighbor this tenacious and tender. Also, don’t mess with the pregnant lady! Such a great, fast read.
Since I’ve only eaten Persian food at western restaurants, I wanted to make sure I was giving an authentic nod to Parvaneh’s roots. A few ingredients are hard to find in grocery stores, but can be easily ordered online or substituted without losing much authenticity of flavor (says the Danish/Brit from WA). I also veered from bone-in chicken pieces to breasts, because… my children. There’s a link below to the original recipe if you want to try the bone-in method!
A Note on Persian Rice: Tahdig is the food-miracle (foodicle?) that happens when rice (or other starch) is cooked with some oil or ghee for a long time over relatively low-ish heat and creates a gorgeous golden crust. This extra effort and time is a delicious reward.
Persian Saffron Chicken and Jeweled Rice
Course: DinnerCuisine: PersianDifficulty: Intermediate6
servings50
minutes1
hour30
minutesIngredients
- For the Chicken
1 cups cool water or chicken stock
2 Tablespoons hot water
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium onion, quartered
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground saffron threads ( I use a mortar and pestle)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2-4 chicken breasts
- For the Jeweled Rice
525 grams, 3 cups Basmati rice
1/4 cup candied citrus peel, chopped (optional, but delicious!)
4 Tablespoons hot water, divided
1/3 cup dried barberries (or cranberries, or dried tart cherries, or dried apricots, or a mix)
1/3 cup sultanas or regular raisins
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 cup slivered almonds
5 Tablespoons oil, ghee, or butter
1/4 teaspoon ground saffron threads
1 Tablespoon salt
Directions
- Prep the Chicken:
- Combine the 2 Tablespoons hot water and saffron in a small dish. Set aside for at least 5 minutes.
- Start the Jeweled Rice:
- Combine 2 Tablespoons hot water with chopped candied citrus peel. Set aside.
- Combine 2 Tablespoons hot water with the saffron. Set aside.
- Put a large pot 2/3 full of water to boil on the stove. Add the salt.
- Put the rice in a large bowl and add cool water and generously cover. Swirl the rice with your hands gently, trying not to break the grains. Drain and repeat a few more times until the water drained off is clear. Optionally, use a fine mesh sieve under running water, but be careful of water pressure so the rice doesn’t break.
- Once the water is boiling, add the rinsed rice and return to a boil. Boil the rice for 4-5 minutes, until the grains have elongated but are still only partially cooked. Bite on one grain to see if it feels tender on the outside but not yet cooked.
- Drain the rice and rinse with cold water.
- Heat up a medium/large pot on medium to medium low heat (I use an enamel coated dutch oven, but a really sturdy bottomed pot should work okay, too). Add the oil/ghee/butter to the pot and heat it up. If you’re using butter, make sure it’s melted and bubbly. Then add the drained rice, creating a pyramid with the rice in the pot. Pour 1 Tablespoon water and one Tablespoon saffron liquid over the rice and poke a few holes into the pyramid, down to the bottom, with the handle of a long utensil.
- Let the rice begin to steam and sizzle for 5 or 6 minutes. Don’t disturb the rice at all! This is what creates the delicious crust. Sprinkle the barberries, raisins, craisins, cherries, and/or apricots over the rice. Place a clean cotton dish towel over the pot, then lid the pot over the towel. Turn the temperature to med-low to low. Let this steam for an hour.
- Finish up the Chicken
- In the Instant Pot (preferred method): Mix water, tomato paste, turmeric, salt, pepper, and the saffron liquid in a separate dish. Place the cooking rack in the bottom on the instant pot, then put the breasts and onion quarters in a single layer on top of the rack. Pour the liquid mixture over the onions and breasts. Seal the pot and pressure cook for 10-15 minutes. ( 10 minutes for small breasts, 15 for really big ones. I typically do 11 minutes.) After the instant pot is finished with it’s countdown, quick release the pressure and remove the breasts to a plate to rest (at least 10 minutes) until you’re ready to shred. (see notes for stovetop method)
- Shred the chicken with two forks. Once the chicken is shredded, add it back into the cooking liquid and toss it around a bit.
- Finish up the Rice
- Once the rice is cooked, scoop out 1/2 cup cooked rice and mix it with the remaining saffron liquid until all the liquid is absorbed and the scoop of rice is now a stunning reddish-gold.
- Scoop the remaining rice into a large shallow serving bowl, gently mixing the dried fruit into the rice. The tahdig may come easily out if you’re using a coated pot or you may need to coax the crust. Put the crust on top. I like to break it up a bit for easy serving.
- Sprinkle the nuts and citrus peel over the top of the rice.
- Drain off the liquid from the chicken and serve the chicken with the rice and maybe even some fresh Shirazi Salad.
Notes
- Chicken on the stovetop: Heat a large, deep-sided skillet on medium heat. Pour the oil into the pan and saute the blended onion for a few minutes. Whisk the tomato paste, water, turmeric, salt, and pepper together in the onion. Add in the saffron liquid. Once the mixture is boiling, gently place the chicken in the pan, turn down the heat to a simmer, and lid it, until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees, about 15 minutes.
These recipes were both adapted from the blog, I Got it From My Maman.