Cilantro Rice
For those of you who don't like cilantro. It has a very distinct flavor and it took me a while to discover that it is the stems in the cilantro that make the bitter taste. So I try to use just only the leaf portion. One other note here. I did use smokehouse almonds instead of plain almonds and I put them in the mini food processor and gave them a good chop before adding the other soft ingredients. One addition might be a little sautéed garlic.



Cilantro Rice
1 1/2 cups
uncooked rice
1 1/2 teaspoons
salt
1/2 cup
whole almonds
1 cup
loosely packed cilantro leaves
1/4 cup
sliced shallots
2 tablespoons
fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon
olive oil
1/4 cup
finely sliced scallion rings
Instructions
In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the rice, 2 cups water, and the salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Place the almonds, cilantro, shallots, lime juice, and oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine and roughly chop. Toss the mixture with the hot rice. Garnish with the scallions.

Guts, you make the best looking dishes!

Guts, I, for one, am a cilantro lover. That looks delicious!

I like is also and never use the stems.

Gloria champagne and Leni thank you for the kind words about the cilantro rice dish. I'm going to warm some of to have with dinner tonight. It's a very simple dish to make and the ingredients aren't too expensive either. I've made it twice now and it is going in my TNT file. I really like the combination of cilantro, lime,shallots, and almonds I've never used just plain almonds, the blue diamond smokehouse almonds really stand out in this dish.

Guts, there are certain things I simply can't imagine eating without cilantro...salsa, for starters. We had a Mexican lasagna last night...just wouldn't be the same without it.

champagne. I think this would be a nice addition to any Mexican meal or serve as a side with just about anything. Cilantro is something that I didn't like the first time I tried it many, many years ago but has grown to be one of my favorite fresh herbs it's one of those if you don't like it you really don't like it. I guess it's an acquired taste. At least it was for me.

It's interesting because I do get the "soapy" description cilantro often gets. I think I liked it from the first time I had it, even though I probably didn't even realize it was there. I must be one of those people born with the cilantro gene.

LOL

I'd be wasting a whole bunch of rice.

The leaves aren't as strong as the stems, but they still have the ick factor!