Baked Garlic Rice
By Yotam Ottolenghi · 50 minutes · 4 servings
A recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi (adapted from “Ottolenghi Simple Too” by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ten Speed Press, 2026)) from NYT Cooking: its ingredients and steps as published. The introduction, tips, photos and reader notes are on the original.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 5 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 45 minutes
- ⏱️ Total time: 50 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice, washed and drained
- 3 large heads of garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 bay leaves
- 10 whole cloves
- 6 cardamom pods, bashed open
- 1 lemon, zest thinly shaved with a vegetable peeler to get 4 strips
- 3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock (or water), boiling hot
Directions
- If you have the time, rinse your rice in a fine-mesh colander, and then transfer to a bowl and soak it in water for 30 minutes (or overnight, even) before draining and cooking — it will result in a fluffier grain.
- When ready to cook, heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut the top ½ inch off the garlic heads, exposing the garlic cloves. Drizzle the oil evenly over the cut side of the garlic and season each head with ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Place cut-side down in a 3-quart ovenproof dish (such as a 9-by-13-inch baking dish) and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer garlic to a plate.
- Increase the oven temperature to 475 degrees. Add the rice, butter, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, lemon zest and chicken stock to the baking dish, along with ½ teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Stir well, then nestle the heads of garlic back into the rice, cut side up. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the rice, followed by a tight-fitting lid or foil, and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to steam, covered, for 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff the rice with a fork, then squeeze the garlic cloves out of their papery skins, fold them into the rice and serve.
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