Four recipes for celebration rice | Food

Duck fattee with chickpea pilaf (pictured above)

Prep 20 min
Cook 2 hr 40 min
Serves 8

2.5kg duck
1 tbsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon

For the crispbread
25g butter, melted
2 pitta breads

For the chickpea pilaf
75g unsalted butter
4cm cinnamon stick
½ onion, thinly sliced
300g basmati rice, rinsed
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
450ml chicken stock

For the fried aubergine
6 tbsp olive oil
1 large aubergine, cut into 2cm cubes
1 tsp salt

To layer up the fattee
500g Greek yoghurt
½ garlic clove, peeled and crushed
30g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
75g walnut pieces
150g pomegranate seeds, half juiced

Heat the oven to 230C (210C fan)/450F/gas 8. Reduce the heat to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and roast for a further two hours.

Melt the butter in a pan, warm the pitta in the oven for two minutes, then split open and brush the butter inside. Put the halves on a rack on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.

For the chickpea pilaf, heat the cinnamon with the butter in a saucepan until it foams. Fry the onion on a medium heat until golden – 15 minutes or so. Add the rice, fry for a minute, stirring to coat in the butter, add the drained chickpeas and stock, along with a pinch of salt, cover with a circle of greaseproof paper and a tight-fitting lid and boil for five minutes. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for five minutes more.

Toss the aubergine in salt and leave in a colander for 20 minutes. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a wok over a high flame. Add the aubergine and salt, and fry for about 15 minutes, until soft and brown. Blot on kitchen paper to blot any excess oil. Keep warm.

Transfer the duck to a carving board; pour off the fat and put the tray over a medium heat. Deglaze with the pomegranate juice and some salt. Carve the duck into small pieces, take the breast off the bone, cut the thighs in half, and keep warm in the oven if necessary, but try to time it so it stays hot and crisp. Mix the yoghurt with 90ml water and the garlic.

Using a large serving platter, layer the dish. Everything needs to be hot, apart from the crispbread and yoghurt. Start layering: first half the crispbread (torn), then the pilaf, followed by the duck, aubergine, then a drizzle of pomegranate juice, remaining crispbread and garlic yoghurt. Finish with the parsley leaves, walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Eat right away – a feast on a plate.

Broad bean pilaf with beetroot borani

Prep 20 min
Cook 2 hr 30 min
Serves 4

100g unsalted butter
6 spring onions (including green parts), thinly sliced
2 leeks, washed and cut into 4cm
1 pinch allspice
150g basmati rice, rinsed
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
300g broad beans
200g peas
1 bunch dill, roughly chopped
½ bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp shredded mint

For the caramelised crisp onions
360ml sunflower oil
2 large onions, peeled and sliced

For the beetroot borani
500g raw beetroot
400g Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a paste with ½ tsp salt
1 pinch sugar (optional)
1 small bunch dill, finely chopped

For the garlic yoghurt
200g Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp milk
½ garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 pinch allspice

First make the beetroot borani: boil the beetroot, skins on, until tender – about 90 mins. Peel under the cold tap and transfer to a food processor. Puree to a smooth paste. Add the yoghurt, oil, garlic and sugar, and blitz until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the dill and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Fry the spring onion, leeks, allspice and a good pinch of salt for 10 minutes, then add the potatoes and fry, stirring occasionally, until the onion and leeks are sweet – about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice, broad beans, peas and two-thirds of the dill and parsley. Barely cover with water and season with salt and pepper. Lay some damp greaseproof paper on the water and bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. When it comes to a boil, put a lid on the pan and cook quite fast for five minutes. Turn down the heat to medium-low for another five minutes before it’s ready to serve.

For the caramelised crisp onions, heat the oil in a large pan. Unless you have a very large pan it’s necessary to fry the onions in batches in plenty of oil, otherwise they will not get crispy. Cook the onions in batches over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to kitchen paper. Mix all the garlic yoghurt ingredients in another bowl.

To serve, sprinkle the mint and remaining dill and parsley over the pilaf. Mix the garlic yoghurt ingredients together and add a dollop to the pilaf, top with the crispy onions and spoon the beetroot borani alongside.

Chicken and rice with almonds and rosemary

Prep 25 min
Cook 2 hr
Serves 4

1 large chicken, breasts boned and cut into 2-3cm cubes; keep the rest for the stock

For the chicken stock
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 tomato, halved
1 head garlic, halved
3 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
2 dried nora peppers, broken open, or 1 tbsp sweet paprika
75ml white wine
1 handful parsley stalks
1.5 litres water
1 small pinch saffron

For the rice
6 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
3 dried nora peppers, broken open, or 1 tsp sweet paprika
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
2 tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
100g whole almonds, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
250g calasparra (paella) rice
75ml white wine or fino sherry

First make the stock. Put the chicken carcass, legs and thighs in a large pot with the rest of the stock ingredients, apart from the saffron, and bring to a boil. Gently simmer for an hour, skimming the froth off the top occasionally. Remove from the heat, strain, then season with a little salt. Add the saffron and let it infuse for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones and shred into medium-sized pieces. Set aside.

To cook the rice, heat two tablespoons of oil in a 30-40cm paella or frying pan on a medium-high heat. When it’s just beginning to smoke, add the breast pieces, season with a little salt and fry until browned on all sides but fractionally undercooked in the centre. Transfer to a bowl.

Wipe the pan, add the remaining oil and, when it’s hot, the onion and peppers, and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn down the heat to medium, add the garlic and rosemary, and cook for a further five minutes. Add the tomatoes almonds cook until the garlic has some colour. Add the rice and stir for one minute to coat with the oil.

Turn the heat to medium-high, add the wine or fino to the pan and a litre of the hot stock and season. Do not stir the rice after this as it affects the channels of the stock, which allow the rice to cook evenly. Simmer for 10 minutes, until there’s just a little liquid above the rice. Spread the meat evenly over the rice, and push each piece under the stock. Gently shake the pan to prevent sticking and turn the heat down to low. Cook for five more minutes, until there is just a little liquid left at the bottom of the rice. Turn off the heat, cover the pan tightly with foil, leave to rest for three to five minutes, then serve with lemon wedges. We also like to serve this with almond aioli (aioli with chopped roasted almonds).

Rice with hake and artichokes

Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4

7 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 green peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
2 globe artichokes, trimmed to the heart, sliced into thin wedges
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
½ tsp fennel seeds
800ml fish stock
1 tsp saffron threads
250g calasparra (paella) rice
80ml white wine or fino sherry
1 small bunch flat‑leaf parsley, roughly chopped
½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
400g hake fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
225g piquillo peppers, torn into strips

Heat the oil in a 30-40cm paella pan or frying pan over a medium-high heat and, when hot, add the onions, peppers and artichokes, and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn down the heat to medium, add the garlic and fennel seeds, and cook for a further two minutes, until the garlic and onions have some colour and the artichokes are tender.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil, add the saffron and infuse for 10 minutes off the heat.

Add the rice to the vegetable pan and stir for a minute. (Up until now, everything can be done in advance; from here on, you need only continue 20 minutes before you wish to eat.)

Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the wine, stock, half the parsley and the paprika, and season. Don’t stir the rice after this, because it affects the channels of stock, which allow the rice to cook evenly. Simmer for 10 minutes, until there is just a little liquid left above the rice.

Spread the hake out evenly over the rice, along with its juices. Push each piece of hake under the stock. Gently shake the pan to prevent sticking, then turn down the heat to medium-low. Cook for five more minutes, until there is just a little liquid left at the bottom of the rice.

Turn off the heat and cover the pan tightly with foil. Let the rice sit for three to five minutes before serving. Decorate with strips of piquillo pepper, the rest of the parsley and the lemon. We serve this with salad and a lemony aioli.

• The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. For ratings in your region, check: UK; Australia; US.

• Samantha Clark is a chef and co-founder of Moro and Morito restaurants in London.