James affectionately calls me the "Starch Queen" as I am notorious for boiling over various starchy ingredients on the stove top. You name it, I have repeatedly neglected the sauce pan just long enough for the contents to foam up and boil over, encrusting the stove top in a burnt coating which I have to scrub off post dinner. Spaghetti, white rice, brown rice, potatoes, macaroni... the list is shameful. I am told (by James, no doubt) I can avoid the mess and hassle by grabbing our enormous stock pot to boil the food in, however the large pot takes forever to boil. And it's big, hence awkward to wash after dinner. So much to James' displeasure, I repeatedly select the large sauce pan instead. And like the certainty of the sunrise each morning, the starchy water inevitably boils over the top. I am smarter than that, really. I know I can use the bigger pot and avoid 80% of my boil-overs. But sometimes my stubbornness gets the best of me, and I'd rather do it my way than listen to the reason and logic of someone else.
Then I learned you can bake rice which eliminates the boil-over dilemma. It's the best of both worlds for me -- I get to hold onto my stubbornness without having to scrape the stove top after dinner.
Baked Brown Rice with Basil and Lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium dutch oven (avoid cast iron as it will require more water than this recipe calls for), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth and water. Cover and bring to a simmer. Stir in rice. Cover and place in the oven. Bake 60-70 minutes until rice is tender.
4. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in basil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Then I learned you can bake rice which eliminates the boil-over dilemma. It's the best of both worlds for me -- I get to hold onto my stubbornness without having to scrape the stove top after dinner.
Baked Brown Rice with Basil and Lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium dutch oven (avoid cast iron as it will require more water than this recipe calls for), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth and water. Cover and bring to a simmer. Stir in rice. Cover and place in the oven. Bake 60-70 minutes until rice is tender.
4. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in basil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.