Simple recipe for brown rice seasoned with saffron and smoked paprika. Vegan and gluten-free.
My Dad has never lacked enthusiasm when it comes to food. He has always been happy, excited and thrilled to eat anything and everything. He loves greasy concession stand fare at an amusement park, scrapple at a Pennsylvania truck stop, werst after werst on our family trip to Germany, big salads for lunch, sautéed farm stand peppers and exquisitely prepared quail at Eleven Madison Park. He loves it all. I am sure a large part of what shaped me as a foodie has a lot to do with his enthusiasm for food.
The other part of that equation was my mom’s cooking. Growing up, my mom did all the cooking. She made us gourmet meals totally from scratch every single night. And my Dad was always so appreciative of everything she cooked. Second helpings? Of course! Most nights, he could be seen eating the left-over salad straight from the salad bowl with a fork at the end of a meal. “This is delicious!” he would declare as he forecfully speared his fork into the bowl again and again, salad dressing spraying from his grin.
When I was a teen, my parents split. I spent time with both parents. When I was at Mom’s we’d live and eat large. When we were at Dad’s. Well… for a minute there we all were afraid that my Dad wouldn’t survive without my mom’s cooking. Would he shrink away to skin and bones without my Mom’s Choucroute garnie? Would he stock up on hotdogs, corned beef hash, and eggs?
My fears were quickly dashed when my dad, Mr. Magoo-like in his forward blundering enthusiasm, headed into the kitchen with spatulas blazing.
What he lacked in cooking skills he made up for in ambition. What any normal newly divorced non-cooking dude would muster up for dinner was not on Dad’s radar screen. I don’t think it ever occurred to him to get by on cans of Big N Chunky soup. My dad went straight for the most gourmet complicated meals he was used to. His tastes for expertly prepared food possibly set his own goals a bit loftier than they should have been.
I’ll never forget the time that he decided to make Paella. I had seen my mom make it in the big primary colored paella pan, the bottle of saffron, the perfect rice. I’d seen it countless times, and I offered to help.
We worked together in the kitchen, trying to piece together my mom’s technique. Okay, so first I’m pretty sure she sautéed the onions and garlic. Then she added the spices. Saffron for sure and the rice of course. Then broth right? It would go into the oven. My dad, happily diced and sautéed sausage. Added some bone-in chicken. I know there was always peas, he said…. Things got a little confusing.
Why we didn’t consult a recipe I’ll never know. How did it go again? At some point, I knew things had gotten out of control when I looked into the oven, and my dad had snuck some pickle spears onto the top of the rice. Okay this is going to be ugly.
And it was ugly indeed. It some how got incredibly spicy. I think we must have used spicy paprika by mistake. And the chicken wasn’t all the way cooked. We both got sick for days.
Even still, that time, of discovering cooking in the kitchen with my dad, becoming independent myself in cooking, without my mom to cook for us every night… it always makes me smile. I look back on it with joy. And we always laugh about those pickles. Which by the way, he denies ever adding. (He totally did it I swear!)
Gradually, he learned though. So did I. When I got my license, I’d do the grocery shopping, and we’d cook together. I was at an advantage, having cooked with my mom, side by side for years. I had as much confidence as my Dad, but at least I knew not to add pickle spears to Paella.
I am so glad my Dad never let his goofs and blunders get him down. In no time, he developed a masterful way of organizing a shopping list, that I still use to this day. He fully embraced all things that could be grilled. He always burned the heck out of it. Onward he went though. He developed some strange but actually delicious signature techniques, like his enormous salads and a garlicky spicy pan sautéed green bean thing that I have to make for you some time. He still cooks every night, even though he is remarried and his wife is an awesome cook herself. He loves to have us over for dinner, and is so proud of his salads. They too are a bit strange (he puts a ton of finely chopped celery in them for some reason…) But I love them. And him.
Every time I use saffron in rice I think of my dad. I can’t help it. I have been making this recipe for a few weeks over and over. I just love these flavors. They are comfort to me. And they are joy in the kitchen for me.
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Simple recipe for brown rice cooked with smoked paprika and saffron. Vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small sweet or red onion
- 1 teaspoon loosely packed saffron threads, ½ g
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup brown rice
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth, such as imagine no-chicken
- ¾ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant and just starting to brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add onion, stir to coat. Cook, stirring often until the onion is starting to brown and soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
- 2. Add saffron, thyme, smoked paprika and salt and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in broth and increase heat to high. Stir thoroughly to make sure saffron threads are evenly distributed, and bring to a simmer. Add rice, and return to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low or low to maintain a simmer, and cook until the broth has been absorbed and the rice is very tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Remover from the heat and stir in parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup each for an entree serving. 2/3 cup for
- Calories: 164
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 963 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
Aw man. Dads are the best aren’t they? Pickle Paella? Um, even as a steadfast lover of pickles I don’t know if I could go down that road!! 😀 This saffron rice sounds wonderful!Oh- and my father-in-law always adds celery to his salads, too! He says he likes the crunch!
I know, I love pickles too, but seriously Dad? Ha ha. Funny about the celery. I love it when he serves it, but I never think to do it on my own. It is kinda good/strange.
Katie, this brought back soo many memories from my childhood- my mum makes saffron rice as the vehicle to all her Persian dishes- Now I’m craving paella.
I am sure her dishes were better than my Dad’s though. ha ha. Glad to bring back fond memories.
I can tell you right now that this recipe is going to become a regular one for me. I’m making an effort to eat more brown rice and I love everything about this version. I even have smoked paprika. I really loved reading about your Dad and your cooking antics with him. Very entertaining!! Great post, Katie!
So glad you liked it Bill. My dad really is one of a kind.
I wish I’d known your mother was such a good cook! I would have begged her to teach me. When we all lived in Wycombe, I was trying to branch out and do more “exotic” and flavorful cooking. My mother was a basic cook, though I have never been afraid to make white sauces or tackle a pie crust. Was her mother a good cook? In my family, it seems like good cooks skip generations!
Yes my mom’s mom was also a great cook. She was a pioneer, serving up meals and fancy parties from the pages of Gourmet to her cronies in West Texas. I have heard that though about skipping a generation some times, as if the child reacts to the bad cooking, and takes matter into their own hands as a coping mechanism. Ha ha. Love thinking about all the history there.
I love this recipe! My husband jokes that he lived on yellow rice (the nasty packet kind) before he married me. I’m glad to make this healthy version to serve him (alongside meat and veggies). I’ve been making this recipe for a couple years now. However, I’m addicted to my new Instant Pot. Do you know if this is adaptable? I use a recipe for plain brown rice now that takes 2 cups of rice and 2 and 1/2 cups of water (I use bone broth). I’m going to try to merge both recipes, so we’ll see how it goes as I could not find a saffron brown rice recipe for a pressure cooker… I would totally give this recipe 10 stars if it had adaptations for a pressure cooker or multi-cooker.
★★★★★
I made it in my instant pot last night to go with enchiladas. It was awesome! I used the sautee function for the onions. I added the spices with 2 cups of brown rice and 2 and 1/2 cups of beef bone broth. Set to pressure cook on high for 15 minutes and let it release pressure on it’s own and it was perfect! I also added a little regular paprika, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and oregano (or marjoram). So flavorful!
Big tip: Don’t put the garlic in to “brown” as suggested above. You don’t want to do that or the garlic will get bitter. Sautee the onions first until brown, then add garlic and sautee for 1 more minute before adding spices. Also, toast the rice a bit with the onions, garlic, and spices before adding the broth. Delish!
★★★★★
Thanks Joanna!