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Saffron Rice and Beans

A saffron‑flavored rice cooked with vegetables, spices, and black beans, served with cheese.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 19 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Saffron Rice and Beans

2–4
Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Heat the olive oil in a very large saucepan.

  2. When the oil is hot, add curry powder, potatoes, onions, red peppers, and tomatoes.

  3. Stir and fry until the potatoes are nearly done.

  4. Reduce the heat.

  5. Stir in crushed garlic, pine nuts, caraway, half the dried oregano, and chili powder.

Make the rice

  1. In a separate pot with a lid, bring 1 ¾ cup water to a boil.

  2. While waiting for the water to boil, make a rice spice mix from paprika, pinch of saffron, cumin, and remaining oregano.

  3. Mix the rice spice mix with basmati rice.

  4. When the water has begun to boil, reduce the heat.

  5. Add the rice and rice spice mix.

  6. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine and serve

  1. Add wine and bouillon cube to the tomato mixture, stir, and turn the heat to low.

  2. Simmer, stirring occasionally, while the rice is cooking.

  3. Let the rice simmer for another 10 minutes, then remove from the heat.

  4. When the contents of the saucepan appear to be frying again instead of simmering, stir in the rice.

  5. When the liquid is absorbed by the rice, stir in the beans.

  6. Turn off the heat and serve with cheese.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1162Calories
42 gProtein
52 gFat
133 gCarbs

Counts 15 of 17 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 15 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Pine Nut1 oz (28g)191
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Carawaynot in our table0
Saffronnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Basmati rice
Forms the bulk of the dish and absorbs the liquid and spices as it cooks.
Red bell peppers
Add sweetness and body to the vegetable base as they soften.
Onion
Builds sweetness and savory depth as it softens in the oil.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture that help flavor the rice as it simmers.
Black beans
Add protein-rich bulk and a firm, earthy texture to the finished dish.
Potato
Fries in the oil and adds starchy body to the vegetable base.

The step that matters

Stir in the rice only when the mixture is simmering, not frying. If the pan is still frying, the rice can scorch on the bottom before it absorbs the liquid. Waiting for a gentle simmer lets the rice cook evenly in the broth.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, potato, onion, pepper, tomato, garlic, pine):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, potato, onion, pepper, tomato, garlic, pine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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