Saffron Rice a la Madame Poe

This is a vegan recipe that we've been eating quite a bit.  It's very easy to make and a great way to use up bits of things that you've got lying around.  Once you've got the proportions down it's super easy to add just about anything that you want.  This recipe is easily unveganized by adding cooked meat at the end.  Ingredients get separated into three categories:

1) Ingredients that get fried in oil -- things like spices, onions, garlic and root vegetables that you might want to get a little caramelization on.

2) Ingredients that need a long cooking time -- rice, beans and anything else that you didn't want to fry but you did want to get the full cooking time.

3) Ingredients that go in at the beginning of the resting period.  -- the rice has to sit for 10 minutes to finish cooking.  you can add things that you don't want to get a whole of heat before the rest.  olives, fresh herbs and vegetables like spinach go in then.

1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tsp cumin seed

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the cumin seeds.  When they start to pop add:

4 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, finely diced

Cook until the onions are translucent.  Add:


2-4 cloves garlic, minced

Once the garlic starts to soften add the spices:


pinch of saffron  
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
generous grind of black pepper

Stir until the onions start to brown.  Then add:

2 cups rice - basmati is the best choice because the grains stay separate but I used sticky rice here because that's what I had and I liked the results.
1 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Stir for a minute and then add:

1 cup white wine -- or less I really like wine and saffron together but this might be too much for some people.  You need 4 cups of liquid total so if you use less wine use more water.
3 cups water

Bring to a simmer, put a lid on the dutch oven and simmer over very low heat for 25 minutes.  Then stir in:

2/3 cup chopped green olives - I found this olive salad at the grocery store that had a mixture of olives and jalapenos.  I loved it. 
huge handful of chopped parsley - put in a whole bunch of it if you like
small handful of chopped thyme

Taste for salt and then put the cover back on and let sit off of the heat for 10 minutes.   Then taste for salt again and serve.

Bon appetit!