Spanish Saffron Rice with Raisins & Pine Nuts

Add 1/2 cup of raisins into a bowl, cover the raisins with hot water and set aside, this will help soften the raisins

Heat a nonstick fry pan with a medium heat and add a 1/4 cup of pine nuts, mix them around continuously so they all cook evenly and they don´t burn, after toasting them for 4 to 5 minutes remove them from the pan and set aside

Heat a sauce pan with a medium-high heat and add 2 1/4 cups of cold water, pinch in 1/2 tsp of saffron threads and a generous pinch of sea salt

Using the same nonstick fry pan heat it with a medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, after 2 minutes add 1/2 an onion that has been finely diced and 3 cloves of garlic that have been finely minced, mix with the oil and cook for 3 minutes

After cooking the onions and garlic for 3 minutes add 1 cup of round rice into the pan, the raisins in the bowl (drain the water before adding), the toasted pine nuts and season everything with sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper, mix together until well combined

At this point your saffron infused water should be boiling, add it into the fry pan with the rice, give it a gentle mix so everything is well distributed, after 6 minutes place a lid on the pan and lower the fire to a low-medium heat, after simmering for 4 minutes and there is almost no broth left, remove from the heat and set aside with the lid on, after 5 minutes remove the lid and top off the rice with some freshly chopped chives, enjoy!