This simple recipe transforms short grain brown rice into a beautiful, vibrant, green pot of rice. The green sauce is packed with veggies, protein, and healthy fats to make this a complete and nourishing meal. One serving packs in about 24 grams of protein plus a healthy dose of iron, magnesium, zinc, and calcium to name a few. Load it up with scrumptious spiced seeds and lots of pickled onions for the perfect creamy, crunchy, tangy bite!
Ingredient Highlight
Brown rice! My favorite and most used rice variety because it’s easy to cook and has a nice chewy texture. Since it’s a whole grain, the bran has not been removed, which contains most of the nutritional benefits. It’s a great source of B vitamins, iron, selenium, magnesium and other trace minerals. It also contains some protein (about 5g in 1 cup cooked).
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 33 minutes Ingredients
For the seeds:**
- 1 cup seed mix pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, etc
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ¼-½ tsp kosher salt
- *This recipe desperately needs an acidic crunchy topper. You could use pickled red onions, sauerkraut, or thinly sliced veg (radish, fennel, celery, etc…) tossed in lemon and salt.
- **Double this recipe and use the extra seeds to top this week's caesar salad.
- **I love the flavor and texture of the fennel seeds, but if you’re not into that, reduce to 1 teaspoon or leave it out.
- Note: ~ to up the protein, top with a fried egg or some crispy chickpeas. Parmesan or feta cheese would also be a delicious topper.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add seeds, fennel, paprika, oil, and salt to the baking sheet and toss to coat (I like these nice and salty and use ½ teaspoon since they are being used as a topper, but you could tone it down with ¼ teaspoon). Bake for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the seeds are toasted and fragrant. Remove and let cool.
- In a large pot, add the brown rice and enough water to cover by 3-inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil for 30-35 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Drain thoroughly, then transfer back to the pot (make sure all of the water is out of the pot).
- In a high-speed blender, add the spinach, herbs, hemp, water, lemon, miso, oil, garlic, and salt. Blend until totally smooth (start slow, then slowly increase the speed). If too thick to blend, add a splash of water. Pour the sauce over the rice and mix to coat (scrape off every last bit!).
- Serve the rice topped with plenty of seeds (¼ cup per person, load it up!) and lots of pickled red onions.
Instant pot short grain brown rice instructions:
- Add 2 cups rice + 2 ¼ cups water + ½ tsp kosher salt to a 6-qt Instant Pot. Set the vent to “sealing”, then pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure by moving the valve to “venting”.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make spiced seeds
- Cook 2 cups short grain brown rice
- Make green sauce
- Pickle 1 red onion
Substitutions:
- You could try using about 5 cups fresh spinach in place of frozen.
- This would also be delicious with farro or pasta.
- Don’t have miso paste? Use equal parts dijon mustard + 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari. Reduce the salt to ¼ teaspoon and add more to taste.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftover rice in the microwave until warmed through. Top with plenty of seeds and pickled onions.
- Use it as a base to create a bowl and top with a fried egg. Make sure to top with something crunchy and acidic (pickled onions, thin sliced veg tossed in lemon, etc…)
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