Armenian Pilaf with Dried Fruit

Rinse the rice several times until the water runs clear, cover with 700 ml cold water and 1 tsp salt, and leave to soak for 120 minutes. Rinse the dried apricots and prunes, cover with 300 ml warm water for 15 minutes, then pat dry; cut the apricots and prunes into strips.

Drain the rice, transfer it to a pot, cover with 500 ml cold water and season with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cook covered over low heat for 7–10 minutes, until the grains are tender on the outside but still firm inside. Do not stir the rice while it cooks.

Melt 30 g butter in a wide skillet. Add the raisins, apricots, prunes and almonds, and sauté over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring gently, until the dried fruit softens without burning.

Stir the honey into the dried fruit and warm through for another minute. Remove the skillet from the heat, setting aside some of the dried fruit for serving.

Drain the rice well in a colander. In a clean pot, melt the remaining butter, spread in half the rice, top with half the dried fruit and almond mixture, then repeat with the remaining rice and dried fruit in layers.

Cover the pot with a lid wrapped in a clean towel and let the pilaf steam over the lowest heat for 10 minutes, so the rice absorbs the flavor of the butter and fruit.

Remove the pilaf from the heat and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Gently fluff it up, transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the reserved dried fruit, and serve hot.