It’s seems as though some form of rice is on our dinner table at least a few times a week. Whether it is a steaming bowl of plain jasmine rice, or a Filipino garlic fried rice, it’s there. It is something all of my kids agree on, eat plenty of, and in its simplest form a very comforting dish. I actually love rice, and one of my favorites and one I default on all of the time is a jasmine rice. Don’t get me wrong though as I love eating sticky rice, and when I get into Indian cooking then my default is basmati rice, but the default is typically jasmine.

I know why I came up with this idea of a Greek style rice because I had mentioned to my wife that I was craving Indian food lately. A few days passed and I still had that thought in my head of Indican food. Then I began thinking of biryani. That is when I probably had enough of the madness in my head, and decided I would marinate a spatchcocked chicken, cooking it on the grill, with a side of this rice, and serve alongside some homemade hummus and flatbread. The dinner in its entirety was a hit, but this Greek rice dish really did shine.

This rice is really easy to make, and uses only a few ingredients. You could sub basmati with a long grain rice if you desire, but keep everything the same if possible. The real winner in texture is the orzo, making it a pilaf style which I like to surprise my wife with from time to time.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups basmati rice, washed
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dry dill weed
• 2 whole lemons, juiced
• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock (or water)
• zest of 1 lemon, optional
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp salt

First start by rinsing the rice in a bowl. Rinse it well. I like to massage the rice a couple of minutes in the water to remove the starches. The water should not be cloudy when you are done rinsing and straining.  Soak the rinsed rice in a bowl of water for about 15 minutes.

During this time heat get all of your ingredients together.

Head a medium sized pot on medium heat. Add in the oil and let it come to temperature for a minute or more. Sautee the onions and garlic, stirring them fora  few minutes. Once the onions begin to soften, add the orzo and lightly toast. This should only take a couple of minutes. Just be sure you stir the mixture frequently before adding in the remaining rice. Add the rice, the juice of one lemon, salt, one the stock.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 18-20 minutes. Take a peak around that time, but no sooner, and the liquid should be fully absorbed. Your rice should be fluffy, not sticky. If it’s sticky, well it’s probably done. Something probably went wrong. Don’t get discouraged. It’s rice and trust me rice can be tricky.

The question you may have is should I just use my rice cooker? To be honest, I’m sure it would work fine. I’ve never used it for this particular recipe, but the rice cooker does wonders. If you have one and feel more comfortable, go for it and report back to me.

Once the rice if fluffy, remove it from the heat, keep it covered, and let is rest for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, remove the lid, add in the juice of the second lemon, and the zest if you are using it.

Toss in the dill weed, parsley, and give this a good stir. Give this a taste and season with additional salt if necessary.

The result is a rice dish that is not only light in texture, but it pops so well with the lemon and dill. Let’s just say it is a really great dish for this time of year. Consider this a base recipe. Feel free to add in cooked chicken, or an array of blanched or charred vegetables to make this a family style main dish. However you serve it, everyone is going to love it. Even one of my suspicious eaters devoured the Greek style rice. This will be in our rotation for years to come. Hope you enjoy!