2020 Holiday Cooking Special Series, Day 8 - Beetroot Rice

 

2020 Holiday Cooking Special Series

Day 8: Beetroot Rice

Keeping it simple today with this bright and colorful Beetroot Rice as our star holiday season signature dish of the day. This delightful rice dish is yet another successful product of my adventorous kitchen experiments and it has inevitably become one of my favorite ways to quickly elevate both the flavor and presentation of my basic rice recipe.

To prepare the dish, first dice 1/4 red onion, 1 small tomato, and then slice 2 small red beetroots into small pieces as depicted in the photo above. I have found that smaller pieces cook much faster and ensure the beets all cook evenly overall. In a medium-sized pot, heat up 3 tablespoons of olive for about 1 minute before pouring in the combination of diced red onions and tomatoes. Let this sauté for about 2 minutes then pour in the beetroot pieces and mix to blend well with the base ingredients. Season this mixture with 1/4 teaspoon of salt in addition to 1 teaspoon each of ground black pepper and smoked paprika. Finally, pour in 2 cups of thoroughly rinsed basmati rice into the mixture and stir to blend well before adding 4 cups of water to begin the cooking process. Lower the heat to medium and let the rice cook slowly uncovered for about 15 minutes. Once the water has almost reduced completely, cover the pot and let the rice fully absorb all the moisture for another 3 - 5 minutes under very low heat. Sprinkle some dry parsley flakes about 1 minute before completely turning off the heat. Simple yet truly delicious...serve hot with a side of soup or stew of your choice for a complete and wholesome meal. Enjoy! 😍😋💖