Strong Verbs Are Just Better

I don't get to make Haloumi Pilaf much anymore, because the fried Haloumi really needs two people to eat it up (it tastes weird after it's cooled) and because haloumi is really hard to find here.

Today I finally made an acceptable alternative. I also solved my 'the spinach in this dish is giving it a grainy texture, wtf I thought I'd washed the stuff' problem, *and* the goat's cheese will last with the leftovers.


This dish is: Vegetarian (providing you choose your cheese to your standards); adaptable to vegans (although I find it a bit dull without cheese at all, but your mileage may vary; gluten-free (providing you check your cheese)
This dish does require: cooking in two dishes on a hot stove, some faffing around with different stages, and patience



1 cup dry rice
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
Generous dash of cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp turmeric
A generous handful of sultanas
1 carrot, grated
1/3 to half a cup worth of frozen creamed spinach (mine comes in tiny thin blocks, I added about six)
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
About 150 grams soft goats cheese
Oil
Water

1. Cook the rice according to your rice cooking preferences. If possible, undercook just slightly.
2. Heat some oil in a pan, add onion and garlic, and sautee for a few minutes until the onion starts to go glassy.
3. Lower heat. Add spices, stir well.
4. Add sultanas and carrot. Stir in the rice and spinach and mix well.
5. Add about 1/4 cup of water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add another 1/4 cup water when the mixture dries out. Repeat until the rice is adhering to the carrot etc a bit, and the whole mix is aromatic. Now stir in the chickpeas.
6. Remove from heat. Serve, and crumble about 20grams of goats cheese into each bowl. (My cheese comes in little rounds, of which I use two at a time.)

Keeps and reheats well (whether or not you want to reserve the cheese to add AFTER reheating is up to you).