Sunday, January 17

Lemon-Scented Rice with Lentils & Sautéed Onions

I love rice. But, I find that I don't eat it as much as I would like, probably because it is shoved in the back of the pantry and I never think to make it. When I was in Israel, I ordered a delicious meat platter — I don't remember what type of meat— and it came with this amazing rice. Soft buttery white rice dotted with lentils and sautéed onions. It was such a delight to eat. The memory popped into my head the other day and I decided to recreate it at home. I ate it as a hot snack on a cold rainy day and it was the most satisfying bowl of rice. I adapted it slightly and added lemon juice and lemon zest for more zing in the rice. This is a great side to quickly heat up for a weekday meal or lunch — and It's even better the next day.

Lemon-Scented Rice with Lentils & Sautéed Onions
1 cup basmati rice, or any rice you choose : 2 cups water
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup green lentils : 3 cups water
1/2 lemon juice and zest
Parsley sprigs as garnish, optional

1 Wash rice under cold water until water runs clear. Bring 2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice and bring back to a boil, cover.
2 While the rice is boiling, bring another saucepan with 3 cups water to a boil. Add lentils and bring back to a boil.
3 Both will take about 20 minutes until tender and all the water is absorbed.
4 Heat a small skillet with olive oil and sauté the chopped onions until golden. Place onions on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
5 When all ingredients are ready, let cool and mix in the onions into the rice and stir well. Spoon some lentils into the rice and stir. I like more rice than lentils but you can choose whatever ratio you like.
6 Zest 1/2 a lemon into the rice mixture, along with its juice. Stir all together.
Serve with other half of lemon and parsley sprigs optional.


9 comments:

♥peachkins♥ said...

it looks really delicious!

Lea Ann said...

This sounds wonderful. I'm thinking I'll start squeezing a little lemon juice every time I make rice. Thanks for this recipe.

mycookinghut said...

Love lemon scented rice!

Michael @ Herbivoracious.com said...

I love your photography, Zoe! The soft focus is beautiful. Do you put any butter or oil in the rice?

Zoe said...

Thank you Michael, I stir in some butter in the hot rice at the end, yes.

nancy at goodfoodmatters said...

This is one of those simple, perfect dishes---so nutritious, too! the fragrant, long grain basmati rice is best with it.

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

This would be a great dish in the summer. It seems so light and summery!

Reginald@CeramicCanvas said...

Another delish but

oh so fabulously simple

dish by The Zoe Blog.

Congrats and Cheers!

Unknown said...

What a wonderful summery rice dish, it might almost make me forget how horrible it is here in the UK.
Have a wonderful weekend daaaaaahling!
*kisses* HH