Soak sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl with 1 cup hot water and set aside.

Place rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse with cold water until water runs clear. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add 1 ½ cups of water and a tablespoon of butter, if you choose. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat so water is barely simmering. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and let sit covered for 10 minutes. While the rice cooks:
* Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter.
* Cut onion in half, peel and thinly slice.

Add sliced onion and a pinch of salt to saucepan and reduce heat to low. Sweat onions until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile:
* Peel and smash garlic.
* Peel and julienne ginger (slice into long thin strips).
* Mince preserved lemon peel.
* Drain sun-dried tomatoes, reserving ¼ cup of soaking liquid. Slice into ¼-inch strips.

Once onion has softened, add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until ginger softens, about 3 minutes. Then add lemon peel, tomatoes, reserved soaking liquid and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Drain chickpeas from can and add to saucepan. Simmer another 5 minutes.

Add spinach and coconut milk to saucepan and cook until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in a shallow bowl over rice.