Persian Rice & Lentils
Mediterranean diet dinner recipes are remarkable ways to pack a whole bunch of healthy goodness into one simple meal that has you covered for lunch or dinner. The inspiration for this one comes from chef Nasim Alikhani and her traditional Persian dish of lentils and rice seasoned with layers and layers of warm flavors. I’ve simplified the spectacular restaurant version to make it easy to make at home so join me in my Mediterranean kitchen while we make an unforgettable meal seasoned with all the rich flavors of the Mediterranean diet.
I like to use a pan-to-table brasier so that I can go from stove to table, reduce the number of dishes and keep everything piping hot while I serve it up!
Ingredients
Instructions
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add the cinnamon, turmeric, salt and lentils and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the lentils are still slightly firm. Drain and reserve to the side.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and while it is heating up, add the optional saffron to let it bloom. Add the rice and the lentils and enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Cook over low-medium heat, uncovered for about 10-15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed.
Reduce the heat to low, stir in the Medjool dates and cover, letting it rest on low for about 5 minutes so that the rice can finish cooking and the dates become soft and pliable.
Finish the dish by topping with crispy onion bits, chopped almonds and minced fresh herbs. I’m partial to a mix of mint, parsley and chives, one or all would be nice.
Serve stovetop-to-table in the pan family-style with Greek yogurt on the side to dollop on each serving.
And if you want to learn more details about how easy it is to make this dish, just click on the video below and watch it now.
Made this the other night and it was great! The cinnamon and date flavors really made it special!
Only one request – please include the dates and the amount needed in the ingredient list. I knew to add dates from the instructions but had to guess and don’t think I added enough. This was a really tasty dish though!
I made this recipe tonight and it was awesome. I had a couple of issues with it, though. I had dates but nowhere in the recipe did it say how many or how much. The recipe wanted fried onions but the directions didn’t when to put them on or in.
How much medjool dates and how donyou prepare it-cut up?