Christmas Rice

Name: Christmas Rice
Yield: Serves 8 generously
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp fine sea salt; 1½ lb [680 g] diced boneless leg of lamb or beef stew meat; 1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper; One 3½ lb [1.6 kg] chicken, cut into serving pieces; 1 whole nutmeg, grated, or 1 tsp ground; ⅓ cup [45 g] raw shelled pistachios; ⅓ cup [45 g] whole blanched almonds; ½ cup [120 ml] extra-virgin olive oil; ⅓ cup [40 g] pine nuts; 2 mastic “tears”; ¼ tsp ground cardamom; Plain yogurt, for serving (optional); 2 bay leaves; Chopped parsley, for garnish; 2½ cups [500 g] white rice; 2 cups [260 g] roasted and shelled chestnuts; 2 tsp ground allspice

Preparation info

Serves
8
generously

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Flavors of the Sun

By Christine Sahadi Whelan

Published 2021

About

Every Christmas Eve, my cousin Sonia makes an absolutely gorgeous buffet, and her rice, with bits of lamb, chicken, and nuts, is the star of the show. This simplified version captures the heady flavors and aroma with a lot less effort. Mastic, while not strictly essential, adds a distinctive quality that I think really makes the dish.

Ingredients

One 3½ lb [1.6 kg] chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 Tbsp coarsely ground blac

Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Put the chicken in a large soup pot with 6 cups [1.4 L] of water and the pepper, salt, allspice, nutmeg, bay leaves, mastic, and cardamom. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the broth is fragrant and the chicken is cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a plate, reserving the stock.

When the chi