Saffron Rice Pilaf

Saffron Rice Pilaf

The Story:
The story behind this dish is a simple one, I needed to bring a dish to a coworker's retirement party and since my daughter has allergies I needed to figure out something different. Since my son loves my rice dishes, I played around with this and that and here is the result. Please note that this dish is intended to be use with a rice cooker.

Ingredients:
3 cups of jasmine or basmati rice (or any rice with a low starch or gluten level)
~5 cups of water (or if you're using a rice cooker, fill it up untill the water is up to the first knuckle on your pointer finger while touching the top of the rice)
3/4 of a TBS of saffron (frankly saffron is so expensive that I just use the cheap philapino stuff and it works just fine. If you can't get a hold of saffron substitute tumeric and sage instead)
1 clove of finely minced garlic
1 large onion diced
2 stalks of fresh scallions
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/2 cup of dried cranberries or currants
1 large carrot diced
1/2 cup of slivered  almonds
1/2 stick of butter
3 TBS of olive oil

Instructions:

Place the rice, water, ground black pepper, garlic, and saffron or saffron substitute in the rice cooker. Stir till the mixture is well mixed. Set the rice cooker, and let it be. Next heat a large frying pan to a medium high heat, with half of the butter. Once the butter is melted pour in the almonds and stir till they are lightly browned. Take the almonds out of the pan and place to the side. Put the remaining butter in the pan and add the diced onion and carrot. Stir occationally, letting the onions cook until they become translucent. Add the cranberries/currants to the mix, stir well and then turn off the heat. Add the almond to the pan. Once the rice is done, add it to your pan with the olive oil on top. Stir until it is well coated and mixed. Place in serving bowl and then sprinkle the diced scallion on top before serving.

eat and enjoy!