Mediterranean Basmati Rice Recipes

BASMATI RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Heat chicken stock in a saucepan until boiling; keep hot until ready to use.
• Heat vegetable oil in a 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and bay leaf in the hot oil until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir basmati rice into onion mixture until rice is coated with oil.
• Pour hot chicken stock into the rice mixture. Season with salt; stir.
• Bring rice mixture to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue simmering until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat and discard bay leaf. Add butter and fluff the rice with a fork.

MEDITERRANEAN RICE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Place medium-size pot over medium heat, and drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of oil; once hot, add in the pressed garlic and stir, just until aromatic, about 30 seconds; add in the rice, plus a good pinch of salt, and stir to combine, toasting the rice in the garlic oil for about 1-2 minutes.
• Add in the water, bring to the boil, and cover; reduce heat and simmer the rice for about 40 minutes, or until cooked; spoon into a large bowl.
• While the rice cooks, drizzle your prepared baking sheet with a little oil; add the eggplant and the halved tomatoes to a bowl, drizzle with a bit of oil, plus a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
• Turn the veggies out onto the baking sheet and roast for about 25-30 minutes, or until the eggplant and tomatoes are tender and slightly golden; spoon into a bowl to hold.
• To assemble, combine the rice with the roasted eggplant and tomatoes, plus the remainder of the ingredients; toss gently together with a spoon, and check to see if additional salt/pepper is needed, or a little extra drizzle of the olive oil.
• Serve the rice warm as a healthy side dish to chicken or fish, or enjoy it by itself, cold, as a snack or a light meal.

NO-FAIL BASMATI RICE RECIPE (TWO WAYS)

Steps:

• Put the rice in a bowl and rinse with cold water 4 to 5 times or until the water runs clear.

MEDITERRANEAN HERBED RICE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan bring water to a boil; stir in the bouillon. Add the rice and stir several times until it returns to boiling. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and let it simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and let the pan stand undisturbed, covered, for 10 minutes. (Do not lift the lid!).
• In the meantime: In a large skillet, saute the onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes (or until the celery and onion are tender). Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Add the cooked rice, fresh herbs, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, and stir just until well combined. Serve while still hot.

EASY ONE-POT CHICKEN AND RICE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the spices to make the spice mixture. Set aside for now.
• Pat chicken thighs dry and cut them into large pieces (I simply cut each in half). Season well with salt, then season with the spice mixture. Work the chicken with clean hands to make sure all the pieces are well-coated with the spice mixture. Set at room temperature for 20 minutes or so (if you have the time).
• In a large and deep cooking skillet with a lid, heat 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Brown the chicken briefly on both sides. Remove from the skillet and set aside for now.
• To the same skillet, now add onions, carrots, and frozen peas. Cook for 4 minutes or so, tossing regularly, until tender. Add the chickpeas and rice. Season with salt, 1/2 tsp allspice and 1/4 tsp ground cardamom. Stir to combine.
• Add the chicken back to the skillet (nestle the pieces in the rice). Add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
• Turn the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.
• Remove from the heat, garnish with parsley.

MEDITERRANEAN BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the rice with water a few times to remove the surface starch from the rice grains.
• Pour 1 tbsp of olive oil into a medium pan and heat on medium. Chop 1/2 of an onion and sauté the onions for 3-5 minutes until they start to appear transparent.
• Add 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Mix until well combined.
• Add two cups of rinsed basmati rice and stir until it is well mixed. All of the rice should be yellow.
• Add 3 cups of chicken broth to the rice.
• Bring the rice to a boil and then lower the temperature to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 15-20 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed.
• Top with dried fruit, almonds and fresh herbs. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

MEDITERRANEAN YELLOW RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the basmati rice 3 to 4 times in water or until the water looks clear.
• Take the rice in a large container and add enough water to cover. Soak the rice for 15-20 minutes.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy bottomed pot or pan over medium heat. Once the butter melted, add onion and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until onions soften.
• Add jalapeno, raisins, turmeric, ground cumin, ground pepper, and salt. Saute for a couple of seconds.
• Add soaked and drained basmati rice. Gently saute the rice for 1-2 minutes until slightly toasted. Do it with a light hand to avoid breaking the grains of rice.
• Add chicken stock and chopped cilantro and stir to mix. Bring the rice to a boil over high flame. Once the water on the surface of the rice dries up, reduce the flame to the lowest, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Your golden pilaf is ready. Turn off the flame, add some cilantro and allow the rice to sit covered for 5 minutes.
• Serve immediately. Enjoy!