Baked Minty Rice with Feta and Pomegranate Relish
A Middle Eastern-inspired rice dish combining fluffy basmati rice with creamy feta cheese, topped with a vibrant relish of pomegranate seeds, walnuts, olives, and fresh herbs. The dish is finished with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses for a perfect balance of sweet, salty, and tangy flavors.
Ingredients
- •½ cup walnuts
- •¾ cup pomegranate seeds
- •¾ cup Castelvetrano olives
- •½ cup olive oil
- •¼ cup fresh mint
- •¼ cup fresh parsley
- •1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- •1 clove garlic
- •to taste kosher salt and pepper
- •2 cups basmati rice
- •4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- •¾ teaspoons kosher salt
- •10 sprigs mint sprigs
- •8 ounces feta
- •note
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Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 5-8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Increase oven temperature to 450°F.
8 min
- 2.
Toss walnuts, pomegranate seeds, olives, oil, mint, parsley, pomegranate molasses, and garlic in a medium bowl to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
5 min
- 3.
Combine rice, butter, and salt in a 13x9" baking dish, then pour in a scant 3 1/2 cups water; top with mint sprigs. Cover tightly with foil and bake until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven; pluck out mint. Fluff rice with a fork.
35 min
- 4.
Heat broiler. Arrange feta over rice. Broil until rice around edges of pan is browned and crisp and feta is starting to brown, 8-10 minutes. Spoon pomegranate relish over.
10 min
