Garlic and Herb Rice

Ingredients

• 300 g basmati rice
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 480 ml vegetable stock
• a big handful of parsley, chopped
• zest of 1 lemon

Method

1. Rinse the rice

   Rinse the basmati under cold water until it runs clear, then drain well. Washing off the loose surface starch is the difference between separate grains and a sticky clump.

2. Fry the garlic

   Warm the garlic in the oil over a medium-low heat until pale gold, then stir in the drained rice and coat every grain.

   4 min

3. Absorption method

   Add the stock — a ratio of about 1.6 to 1 by volume — bring to a boil, then turn it to the lowest possible heat and clamp the lid on.

4. Do not lift the lid

   Cook for 11 minutes without looking, then take it off the heat and leave it, still covered, for 10 more. The steam trapped in that resting time is what finishes the grains evenly.

   21 min

5. Fork through

   Fluff with a fork — never a spoon, which crushes the grains — and fold through the parsley and lemon zest.