It is late spring, and you can tell. Broad beans, asparagus, mint and dill are all exactly where they should be.
This tahdig makes a meal of that brief point in the season when everything feels green, fresh and worth paying attention to. You get crisp golden rice underneath, tender grains above, vegetables with a bit of bite, and cool labneh alongside.
The Season Cast Iron Frying Pan matters here, too. Tahdig depends on contrast, and the pan is what helps give the rice its proper crust: deep golden, crisp, and the whole point of the thing.
Serves 4–6
You’ll need
For the tahdig
- 300g basmati rice
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt, plus more for the water
- 1 generous pinch saffron
- 2 tbsp boiling water
- 60g unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
- 2 tbsp neutral oil or light olive oil
- 150g broad beans, podded weight, or frozen and defrosted
- 200g asparagus
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- 2 tbsp chopped mint
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Black pepper
For the labneh
- 250g labneh
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- A little salt, if needed
To finish
- 2 tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped
- A few extra mint or dill leaves
- Olive oil, for serving
Equipment
A Season Cast Iron Frying Pan or other 30cm frying pan with a lid, or a pan you can cover tightly with foil.
Method
1. Cook the rice
Rinse the basmati in cold water until the water runs mostly clear. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil, then cook the rice for 5–6 minutes, until the grains are elongated but still firm in the middle. It should not be fully cooked. Drain and leave it to steam dry for a few minutes.
2. Soak the saffron
Put the saffron in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave it for a few minutes.
3. Prepare the vegetables
If using fresh broad beans, blanch them in boiling water for a minute, then slip them from their skins if they are large. Smaller ones can be left as they are. Trim the asparagus and cut into short lengths, leaving the tips a little longer.
Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spring onions and cook for a minute or two until softened. Add the asparagus, broad beans and cumin, season with black pepper and a little salt, and cook for another 2–3 minutes. The vegetables should lose their raw edge but keep their shape. Stir through the dill and mint, then tip everything onto a plate.
4. Make the tahdig base
In a bowl, mix about a third of the drained rice with the melted butter, yoghurt and saffron water. This is what forms the crust.
5. Assemble the tahdig
Wipe out the pan if needed, then add the remaining oil and place it over a medium heat.
Spread the saffron rice mixture across the base of the pan, pressing it down firmly and evenly. Spoon over half the plain rice, then scatter over the vegetable mixture. Finish with the rest of the rice, heaping it slightly in the middle. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make a few holes down through the rice so steam can move through it.
Wrap the lid in a clean tea towel if you like, or cover the pan tightly with foil before putting on the lid. This absorbs steam and helps keep the crust crisp.
6. Cook
Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes to get the base started, then turn the heat to low and cook for 30–35 minutes more. The rice should be fully cooked and the underside deeply golden and crisp.
Leave it alone while it cooks. The steam needs to do its work.
7. Make the labneh
While the rice cooks, stir together the labneh, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Taste and add salt if needed. It should be thick, cool and sharp enough to balance the richness of the rice.
8. Turn it out
Once the tahdig is done, leave it to sit for 5 minutes off the heat. Run a palette knife or spatula around the edge. Place a large plate or board over the pan and invert carefully.
If it comes out in one piece, all well and good. If it does not, it will still taste exactly right.
9. Finish and serve
Spoon the labneh alongside, or spread it onto a serving plate first and set the tahdig on top or beside it. Scatter over the pistachios and extra herbs, then finish with a little olive oil.
Serve warm.
A few notes
On the vegetables
If you want the finished dish to look a little more composed, add a few blanched asparagus tips on top after turning out the tahdig.
On texture
The contrast is the point: crisp rice, tender grains above, spring vegetables with bite, cool labneh at the side.
On making ahead
The labneh can be mixed earlier in the day, and the vegetables can be cooked ahead. The tahdig is best made close to serving.
If you want a little more
A small handful of barberries or a few very thin slices of preserved lemon folded through the herbs would work well, but neither needs overdoing.
