Easy and delicious rainbow rice
I’ve been working on a project over the last couple of weeks, designing a healthy, all natural plant-based dinner party menu for a client of mine.
My client is joyous about food, and her personality is bold, colorful and warm. Her personality, along with what’s in season, dietary needs, style of party, etc. were all important factors we took into consideration when designing the menu.
Our final selections included a few classic dinner party dishes I’ve designed in the past, along with several new ones as well.
One of my favorites was this Rainbow Rice I’m sharing here today. It’s a jazzed up grain situation inspired by Persian jeweled rice (which I absolutely love) and it’s as beautiful as it is delicious and good for you.
Made with white basmati rice, carrots, fresh cilantro, pistachios, pomegranates, lemon and more….
Keep reading for everything I love about it, and some servings tips and suggestions too!
Health Perks
Easy to digest. Cooking with white rice, following food combining principles and using easy-to-digest carrots - this meal is a digestive treat (especially for anyone who struggles in this department).
Filled with antioxidants. Both carrots and pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants. While there are many types of antioxidants that benefit the body in all sorts of ways, they generally known for helping the body fight off free radicals. High levels of free radicals can lead to chronic diseases and heath problems such as cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, cataract, and cancer. So yes to eating foods filled with antioxidants!
A boost of fiber. Adding veggies and fruit to this rice gives it a boost of fiber, which can promote regular elimination by adding bulk, size and softness to your stool. It also helps regulate the body’s use of sugar, keeping hunger and blood sugar in check.
Contains no sugar or oil and minimal butter. I’ve managed to keep the sugar levels low in this dish (and just from natural sources - pomegranate) and completely free of oil. While it does contain plant-based butter, it is a minimal amount (a single tablespoon for the entire dish) and you can omit it if you wish.
You’re getting a wide variety of micronutrients. The more colorful your plant-based dishes are, the greater exposure to a wide range of vitamins and minerals. And this one is as colorful as it gets!
Other Thoughts, Tips and Suggestions
Don’t sub water for vegetable broth. This recipe calls for cooking rice in vegetable broth as opposed to water and I highly recommend that you not overlook this detail.
Easy to riff on. There’s a lot of room to play with this recipe, depending on your tastes, preferences and what you have on hand. Feel free to play around with different herbs, different vegetables, sub seeds for nuts, etc. Mix it up. Go wild. It’s part of the fun.
Give the rice time to cool. Be sure the rice has cooled before you combine all of the ingredients together. This will prevent your herbs from wilting too much and your nuts from getting soggy.
Food combining option. If you follow food combining principles, you can swap the pomegranate seeds for edible dried rose buds! I don’t think it would taste as good but it would be pretty.
Grain-free option. While I haven’t tried this myself, you can give riced cauliflower a try if you’re looking for a grain-free option. Because you wouldn’t be cooking it in vegetable broth (and may lose a lot of flavor), I would sauté the rice cauliflower in plant-based butter and salt.
A great dinner party/hosting dish. This is a perfect side dish for hosting. It’s light yet deeply flavorful, and beautiful to look at it. A real show stopper, if you ask me.
Check out the full recipe below. Hope you love it as much as I do!
Rainbow Rice
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15-20 minutes | Yields: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice, rinsed
1.5 cups filtered water
1 tbsp plant-based butter (I use Montys or Miyokos because they’re the cleanest of the bunch)
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1 small bunch of carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1 large handful of cilantro, stems removed and chopped
1 tbsp dill weed (dried dill)
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
Additional salt, to taste
Directions
Cook your rice. In a large sauce pan, combine rice, vegetable broth, plant-based butter and salt over a high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook until tender (about 15 minutes). Once rice has cooked, remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
Prep remaining ingredients. While your rice cooks, prep your remaining ingredients (grate, chop, zest, etc.)
Bring it all together. In a large bowl, combine cooled rice, and remaining ingredients. Mix until everything is well combined. Season with additional salt, to taste.
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