Ingredients
Ptitim
- 400 gptitim, pearl or star shaped
Base
- 3 tbspolive oil
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspsweet paprika
- ½ tspturmeric
Liquid
- 700 mlchicken or vegetable stock
- salt and black pepper
Optional
- 1red pepper, diced
- 100 gmushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbspchopped parsley
- toasted pine nuts
To serve
- as a side, or with roast chicken
Directions
- Heat a little oil in a wide pan and add the ptitim, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until the pearls turn a shade darker and smell nutty. The pasta is already toasted in manufacture, and toasting it again in the pan deepens that flavour considerably and helps the pearls stay separate.
- Tip the toasted ptitim out of the pan and set it aside. Add more oil to the pan and cook the onion for 8 minutes until soft and golden.
- Add the garlic, cumin, paprika and turmeric and cook 30 seconds. Add the diced pepper and mushrooms now if you are using them. Return the toasted ptitim and stir it through the spiced onion.
- Use roughly one and three-quarter parts liquid to one part ptitim by volume, which is less than for rice. Too much and it goes gluey; too little and the centres stay hard. Season the stock before it goes in, because seasoning added afterwards sits on the surface.
- Pour in the hot stock, bring it to a boil, then cover and turn the heat to its lowest. Cook covered for 12 to 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Do not stir it while it cooks.
- Take it off the heat and let it stand covered for 5 minutes. The pearls should be separate, glossy and tender with a slight bite at the centre, rather than soft and merged.
- Stir in the parsley and toasted pine nuts. Serve it as a side to roast chicken or fish, or as a base for a fuller dish with vegetables and chickpeas.
Technique
- It can be boiled and drained like pasta, though the absorption method gives far more flavour.
- Moghrabieh and maftoul are hand-rolled couscous and are genuinely different products.
- It keeps two days refrigerated and reheats with a splash of stock.
Substitutions
- Fregola, the Sardinian toasted pasta, which is the closest relative.
- Orzo, which cooks similarly though it is untoasted.
Variations
- With roasted vegetables folded through.
- Cooked in a tomato base, which is common.
- Plain with butter, as children eat it.
History
Toasted wheat pellets developed at the Osem factory in the 1950s when rice was scarce, nicknamed Ben-Gurion’s rice.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ptitim?
Ptitim is a salad & side from Israel: toasted pasta pearls, austerity-era invention turned comfort food. Toasted wheat pellets developed at the Osem factory in the 1950s when rice was scarce, nicknamed Ben-Gurion’s rice.
How long does Ptitim take to make?
Ptitim takes 15 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Ptitim?
Yes, within limits. Fregola, the Sardinian toasted pasta, which is the closest relative. Orzo, which cooks similarly though it is untoasted.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ptitim?
Pour in the hot stock, bring it to a boil, then cover and turn the heat to its lowest. Cook covered for 12 to 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Do not stir it while it cooks.
