Turkish Tomato Rice ("Domatesli Pilav")

If you and/or your kids like rice, but the plain ol' white stuff is getting boring, try this. It's easy to make, although there is some stirring involved, so grab some wine and some music and stir, stir, stir! (Recipe from "The Art of Turkish Cooking" by Neset Eren.)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
Salt to taste
4 medium tomatoes, cubed/chopped
6 Tbsp. butter (I used GFCFSF Earth Balance)
2 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth (Pacific is GF, or make your own!)
Pepper to taste (I did not use)

Directions
Place rice in a bowl. Add 1 tsp. salt and cover with hot water. Stir and allow to cool. Once it's cool, drain and set aside.

Cook tomatoes in butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir constantly until it forms a paste, about 30 minutes. Add the broth, salt, and pepper, and boil for 2 minutes. Add the rice while the broth is still boiling. Stir it just once, cover it and cook on high heat without stirring for 5 minutes. Turn heat down to low, keep covered, and cook until the rice absorbs the broth (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat. With a slotted spoon, remove any tomato peels.

Remove cover, place a cloth napkin over the saucepan, and then replace the cover. Leave it covered like this for 40 minutes on top of your stove.

Serve
Transfer the rice gently to a serving dish with a spoon.