Sarah B's Jeweled Rice from My New Roots

Here's another detox friendly dish/side-dish that was a lot of fun to make and is beautiful to serve at any dinner party.  Allow some time to prep the ingredients before cooking the rice since it takes some time to get through them all.  This dish is well worth the effort as the aromas from herbs and spices pack in a good punch of flavor that only gets stronger as it ages (like a day or two, it didn't last much longer in our house after that...).

Ingredients:
2 cups of brown rice (rinsed and soaked overnight)
medium sized yellow onion (or 2 small yellow onions; Sarah B indicates shallots as well)
2 carrots
organic orange rind with as much as of the white pithe cut away
coconut oil
1/2 tablespoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
4 bay leaves (dried)
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup of raisins (you could mix various fruits here, apricots, dates, raisins, be careful of sugar content if observing detox rules)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup packed mint leaves
1/2 cup packed chives
1 pomegranate seeded
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pistachios
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling, if you like (I did not do this)
lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:

1. Soak brown rice over night.
2. Dice onion and grate the carrots.  
3. Peel or slice off the outer edge of the orange rind, removing as little white pithe as possible.  If peeling, use a sharp knife to remove the white pithe. Slice into matchstick-sized pieces and set aside. 
4. Heat a knob of coconut oil (yeah, as previously mentioned I dislike this phrase, maybe 2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon, cut back as needed) on medium high heat.  Once warmed (melted), add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add turmeric, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick.  Stir to coat the spices with oil and fry until fragrant.  



All the spices and carrots, onions and orange peel cooking away, there's a lot of flavor packed in there!

5. Next, add diced onion, grated carrots, orange rind and raisins (or dried fruit).  Cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.  The coconut oil will be completely absorbed by the mixture here, that's ok, but turn down the heat a little so the ingredients don't burn. 
6. Drain the soaking rice and add 4 cups of water and salt.  Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until all the water has evaporated.  Once all the water has evaporated, turn off the burner, leave the lid on and allow the rice to steam to cook further if needed. 
7. While the rice is cooking, prepare the following: wash and chop the mint, remove the seeds from the pomegranate, and gently roast the nuts until golden. 



cooked brown rice with carrots, orange peel, onion and all spices

8. When the rice is finished cooking, transfer to your serving bowl (hopefully it's room temperature) or baking sheet (the baking sheet will allow it to cool faster, but it will create another dish to clean :D).  
9. After a few minutes, add the herbs and nuts and pomegranate seeds and fold to incorporate.  Season to taste.  
10. Serve rice with a drizzle of olive oil (if using) and lemon wedge.  

zoomed in finished dish

zoomed out finished dish - love the green pistachios and ruby red pomegrantes

Buon Appetito!