rice with vermicelli
- Active time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups [400 g] long grain rice (e.g., basmati)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup [120 g] slivered almonds
- ¾ cup [110 g] golden raisins or sultanas*
- 1 cup [80 g] broken wheat vermicelli**
- 3 cups [705 g] cold water
- 1½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Line a plate with paper towels. Use a fine mesh colander to rinse the rice under cold water. Set both near the stove.
- Toast the almonds: Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and the almonds to a large saucepan or small stockpot. Place over medium low heat and stir constantly until they become golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat off and remove with a slotted spoon to the paper-towel-lined plate.
- Toast the raisins: Add the raisins to the remaining olive oil and place back over low heat. Stir for about 1 to 2 minutes until they puff up a little and caramelize slightly. Turn the heat off again and remove with a slotted spoon to the plate with the almonds.
- Toast the vermicelli: Discard any remaining spent oil and give the pot a quick wipe with a paper towel. Add the vermicelli and another 2 Tbsp oil to the pot, place over medium low heat, and stir constantly until it turns light brown, about 3 minutes.
- Remove the toasted vermicelli from heat and immediately stir in the rinsed rice (this cools the vermicelli down so it doesn’t over-toast). Stir in the water.
- Make the rice: Place the pot of vermicelli, rice, and water over high heat. Add the salt and another 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Once it comes to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Keep covered the whole time.
- Rest the rice: Once 15 minutes are up, remove from heat but do not uncover (do not even peek). The residual heat is going to keep cooking the rice for a couple more minutes as it rests and cools. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes, up to 30.
- Once it’s rested, fluff the rice with a fork. Spoon onto a serving dish and cover with the almonds and raisins.
Notes
* I swear these raisins are not like other raisins (sorry I know that makes them sound like pick-me raisins). But you can leave them out if you really hate raisins. I explain at the top of the blog post, so feel free to give it a read if you’re curious. Or leave them out if you need to—you do you!
** You can buy pre-broken vermicelli in Middle Eastern markets and sometimes the international aisle of the supermarket (sh’arieh in Arabic, tel şehriye in Turkish).
If you can’t find that, buy vermicelli egg noodles and crush them up with your hands. If you go the vermicelli egg noodle route, they should be wheat-based (not rice-based), usually made with semolina. If you’re crushing up your own noodles, make sure they’re crushed very compactly (particularly if you’re not measuring with weight). If they’re loosely packed and not well-crushed, 1 cup won’t be enough, which will mean there will be too much water, which will result in soggy rice. Or use a scale and don’t even sweat it.
To make this recipe gluten free, you can even use crushed up gluten free angel hair/capellini, or even gluten free spaghetti.
I’ve even used regular old broken-up spaghetti in a pinch when I didn’t have any vermicelli around. It’s not exactly the same but totally works if you can’t find vermicelli anywhere.
Find it online: https://cardamomandtea.com/13527/rice-with-vermicelli/