Christmas Rice

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

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