Middle Eastern Fried Rice with Turkey
and peas / carrots
This fried rice is fast thanks to leftover rice. Middle Eastern-inspired ingredients and spices give the rice a unique and exotic flavor. This meal was last featured in 2019.
Ingredients
- Paprika, smoked - 1 tsp
- Cumin, ground - 1/2 tsp
- Coriander, ground - 1/2 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
- Turmeric (opt) - 1/4 tsp
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Turkey, ground - 1 lb
- Lemons - 1, wedges
- Cilantro leaves - 2 Tbsp, chopped
- Beans, garbanzo (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Peas and carrots, frozen - 1 1/2 cups
- Pine nuts - 2 Tbsp (sub sliced or slivered almonds)
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Basmati rice, cooked (leftover from Monday) - ~2 cups
- Soy sauce, low-sodium - 1 Tbsp
- Harissa paste - 2 tsp (sub tomato paste with a few drops of hot sauce)
- Golden raisins - 1/4 cup
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1/2 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make spice mix - Combine paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Garlic - Chop garlic. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Season turkey - Stir spice mix and garlic into turkey. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Lemons / Cilantro - Prep as directed.
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
- Peas and carrots - Defrost frozen peas and carrots in the microwave or by running them under warm water.
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Make
- Heat a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and saute until fragrant and lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside. (Note: If making Thursday's meal, go ahead and toast the pine nuts for that night at the same time and store them separately.)
- Return pan to heat and add oil. Add seasoned turkey (which should already be combined with spice mix and garlic) and saute, breaking it apart, until nearly cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add peas and carrots and stir to combine.
- Stir in rice, beans, soy sauce, and harissa until everything is heated through, ~2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in raisins. Squeeze half the lemon wedges over top.
- Divide rice between serving plates and top with yogurt, pine nuts, and cilantro. Serve remaining lemon wedges and some extra harissa on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
7 reviews
Riced cauliflower would have been a good substitute here! The yogurt was really needed to give it more of a "rich" feel. Next time will add more spices. Used apricots and was great!
0 HelpfulLoved the flavor. Loved how easy it was. Left out the raisins because I forgot to order them. Didn’t miss them. Yummy!
0 Helpfulyummy - nice to have something different. i'm not a big fan of cinnamon so I left that out.
0 HelpfulLoved the flavors - it was very reminiscent of the Persian turkey kofta from a few weeks ago. We liked it a lot. Subbed dried cherries for raisins cuz they were on hand.
0 Helpful