Slow-Cooked Fennel Confit with Kalijira Rice and Castelvetrano Olives

Place the dry Kalijira rice in a fine-mesh sieve set inside a bowl, submerge under cold running water, and gently swirl until the water runs clear to remove surface starches.

Lift the fine-mesh sieve from the water and let the Kalijira rice drain thoroughly for 10 minutes to ensure accurate liquid ratios during cooking.

Using a chef knife on a cutting board, trim the stalks from the fennel bulbs, pluck and reserve 10 grams of delicate leafy fronds for garnish, halve the bulbs lengthwise, trim the tough base core, and slice the bulbs into 1 cm thick wedges.

Arrange the sliced fennel wedges, smashed garlic, lemon peel ribbons, whole fennel seeds, black peppercorns, and 2 grams of fine sea salt in a single layer in the small Dutch oven, then pour the 150 ml of extra-virgin olive oil over the top and warm over low heat until the oil maintains a gentle sub-simmer around 90°C (194°F) for 45 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tender confit fennel wedges, lemon peel, and garlic to a clean plate, then pour the warm confit oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl, reserving 20 ml of the infused oil for the rice and the remainder for dressing.

Warm 20 ml of the reserved fennel-infused olive oil in the medium saucepan over medium heat at 160°C (320°F), add the drained Kalijira rice, and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes until the grains become fragrant and chalky white.

Pour the 350 ml of room-temperature water and 3 grams of fine sea salt into the saucepan, bring to a rapid boil at 100°C (212°F), immediately clamp the tight-fitting lid onto the pan, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and simmer undisturbed for 12 minutes.

Remove the covered saucepan from the heat source and allow the rice to rest undisturbed with the lid firmly in place for 10 minutes to allow moisture redistribution.

On the cutting board, coarsely chop the tender confit fennel wedges into bite-sized 2 cm segments, finely mince the confit garlic, slice the pitted Castelvetrano olives into halves, and roughly chop the reserved fennel fronds.

Uncover the saucepan of rested Kalijira rice, fluff the grains gently using a mixing spoon, then fold in the chopped confit fennel, minced confit garlic, chopped Castelvetrano olives, 15 ml of fresh lemon juice, 15 ml of the remaining infused confit oil, and the chopped fennel fronds.

Transfer the warm pilaf onto a wide serving platter, taste for balance, season with the final 1 gram of sea salt if needed, drizzle with an additional 10 ml of infused oil, and serve immediately.