Step 1

If you are cooking brown rice, start that off immediately. If you are cooking white rice, you can wait until the mushrooms are in the oven with 10 minutes to go. For this recipe, I like to cook my rice like pasta: Don't worry about measurements, just fill a medium-large saucepan with salted water and bring it to a boil, then add the rice to the water. Allow it to cook for 25-30 minutes for long grain brown rice or 8-10 minutes for long grain white rice. Be sure to taste test as you go. Once it's ready, drain it in a sieve (the kind you use for icing sugar!), shaking it a little to get all the water out.If the mushrooms aren't ready yet, return the rice to the pan and add a little drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter. Allow to sit, covered, until the mushrooms are done.

Step 2

Prepare your mushrooms and onions. Quarter the mushrooms and add to a large serving bowl with the garlic and 4 tbsp of olive oil. Stir through to get all the mushrooms well coated in garlic, then add salt and pepper to taste and scatter in the baking dish. Slice the onions into half rounds, place in the same bowl and toss with another tablespoon of olive oil. You don't need to separate them into individual slices, let them stick in their half moons as much as possible (this stops them from burning). Once they're coated in oil, add them to the pan with the mushrooms.Place in the oven for 25 minutes, stirring once around the 15 minute mark.

Step 3

While they roast, toast the pistachios. Heat a cast iron or stainless steel pan (no oil) and add the pistachios. Turning regularly, toast for a couple of minutes until they start to smell toasty. Pour them onto a plate to cool, and then chop them up if you wish.

Step 4

Once the mushrooms are browned and reduced and the onions are starting to crisp up, remove from the oven and add in the spices. Add a pat of butter or another pour of oil and mix through to get all of the mushrooms well coated in the spice mix. Place back in the oven for another minute, just to give the spices a chance to bloom and release their flavor and scent.

Step 5

Add the lemon. Remove from the oven and mix the lemon zest through, then squeeze the juice of the lemon over the top and mix again. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6

Add in the cooked rice and cilantro (fresh coriander) and toss through, then sprinkle the pistachios over the top.

Step 7

Serve. You can serve directly from the roasting dish, or transfer to a serving bowl.