I love and tolerate rice very well, so I serve it as a side dish quite frequently. I’m really happy when I find another way to fix this dinnertime staple. I’ve really grown to love basmati rice. I had never had it before we went to a local pan-Mediterranean restaurant this past year (for those who live in St. Cloud, it’s Cafe Renaissance, one of our favorite restaurants!). They serve saffron basmati rice with many of their dishes. I was smitten. I don’t know what it is, but it has this glorious nutty flavor that I just love. I could probably eat it by itself with a little salt and butter, but I found this recipe from Cooking Light and had to try it. I did make some FODMAP modifications and here are the delicious results. If you are allergic to nuts you can use sunflower nuts (hulled sunflower seeds) in place of the pine nuts. They make a fine substitution.
Herbed Basmati Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
- 2 cups Low-FODMAP Chicken Broth or Stock* (unsalted)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 sliced scallions, green parts only
- 1/4 cup pine nuts or sunflower seeds, toasted
- 3 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice to pan, saute 2 minutes or until rice is lightly toasted.
- Add broth to saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in basil, salt, thyme and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Remove from heat and stir in the scallions, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Serve.
Notes
Adapted from Cooking Light
*Recipe updated 5/9/16.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Affiliate Disclosure page for more information.
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this rice! It's so simple! Sometimes I think I overcomplicate things…
I wouldn't normally use dried herbs for something like this, but simmered in the broth gave the rice so much flavour! I didn't have dried basil, so just used the thyme. I also used shallots instead of scallions, since that's what i had, so I added those at the beginning instead of the end. I also added some garlic with the shallots. I made it as a side dish with lemon baked haddock and some summer vegetables, but all I wanted to eat was the rice! Thanks for the recipe….you're right, basmati is the best 🙂
So glad you liked the recipe! It's one of my favorites. I loooove basmati rice!