Lemon and Saffron Basmati Rice
Excuse me as I crawl out from underneath that rock I’ve been hiding under since Thanksgiving! I’m back and breathing! This past week has been quite hectic, and full of go-to meals that I usually make when I’m too busy to devote more than half an hour to dinner. Old stand-bys, like Chayote Squash and Tofu, Caramelized Tofu and Sugar Snap Peas, and pasta like this one have gone through their circulation numbers of times during weeks like these, with ingredient substitutions here and there.
P’s running his full marathon this coming weekend, and I’ve been cooking foods that will fuel him so he’s at the peak of his performance. But amidst all that brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, we both wanted a little break from the typical. The goal is to keep half your grains consumed for the entire day whole grains (brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat bread, whole grain cereals, oatmeal, etc), so we’re doing well in that arena. It’s been awhile since we’ve had basmati rice, and this was a welcome change (I used white basmati here; I’ve seen brown basmati rice in some stores if you’d like to try that instead). I added saffron to the rice, which adds a wonderful yellow color to the rice, with flecks of red saffron in the final product. Stirring in some lemon zest and lemon juice at the end of the cooking adds a fresh, vibrant taste that will pair well with some grilled fish or chicken.
Lemon and Saffron Basmati Rice
makes about 4 cups of cooked rice
1 tsp olive oil
Pinch of saffron
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 can (14.5 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the saffron, garlic, and rice, and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring the liquid to a boil; then turn the heat down to medium low and simmer, covered, until the rice soaks up all the liquid, about 12-15 minutes. Stir in fresh lemon zest and lemon juice at the very end before serving. Taste and season with another pinch of salt if desired. Voila!
nutritiontokitchen.wordpress.com 
Mm good idea I like basmati
Yum! We just had something very similar at a Persian restaurant we ate at last Saturday 🙂
That is one gorgeous photo! At a cooking class, I once had an Indian version of lemon rice. It also had roasted cashews, black sesame seeds, yellow lentils, minced green chile, and turmeric. I still have the recipe pinned to my bulletin board.
I love basmati rice! What a great recipe.