Seafood pilafi with chilli pine nut butter
This fragrant rice dish with seafood, tomatoes and golden raisins makes a wonderful summertime main, drizzled with a parsley, chilli and pine nut butter.
Ingredients
For the pilafi
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 75g/2¾oz unsalted butter
- 80g/3oz vermicelli
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 350g/12oz ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
- 250g/9oz long grain or basmati rice
- 800ml/28fl oz hot fish stock or water
- good pinch of saffron
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 75g/2¾oz golden raisins
- 600g/1lb 5oz seafood (such as squid rings, deveined prawns and mussels), cleaned
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
For the chilli pine nut butter
- ½ tsp dried chilli
- 60²µ/2¼´Ç³ú pine nuts
- ½ bunch flatleaf parsley, chopped
Method
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and drizzle in the olive oil and a tablespoon of the butter. Crush the vermicelli into small pieces and fry until golden and crisp. Spoon into a bowl and leave to one side.
Lower the heat a little and add the onions and garlic to the pan. Fry for 15 minutes until golden and sticky. Add the tomatoes and rice and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the saffron to the hot stock or water and leave for a few minutes. Pour into the saucepan, along with the cinnamon, raisins and fried vermicelli. Bring to the boil, then reduce to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes.
Stir through the seafood, adding a splash of boiling water if the rice is looking dry. Cover with the lid again. Cook for a further 5 minutes, until the shellfish is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the dried chilli and pine nuts and toast until the pine nuts are golden.
Stir the parsley through the pilafi and season with sea salt and pepper. Drizzle over the spicy pine nut butter and serve with the lemon wedges.