Herbed lemon pilaf with almonds

[birke]

I make this out of the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home quite frequently. Rather than copy it out, I searched the web for someone who'd done the work for me. The below is copied and pasted from a dating site, of all things.

The recipe as written includes a lot of chopping. I don't find this problematic because these ingredients are somewhat soft, but your mileage may vary. To make it easier on myself, I buy sliced almonds at the store and sometimes use dried basil and thyme and bottled lemon juice. I don't recommend using dried parsley, that just takes the flavor out.

Herbed Lemon Pilaf with Almonds

2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1 tsp turmeric
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup fresh parsley
3 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup hot water

Also:
2/3 cup chopped almonds
salt and ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs butter or margarine (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a good-sized saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and then sauté on medium for about 5 minutes. Mix in the turmeric, lemon juice and soy sauce. Lower the heat and add the basil, thyme and parsley. Add the rice and mix it well with the seasonings.

Drizzle in the hot water. Cover the pot and steam the rice on low heat for about 5 minutes or so.

While the pilaf steams, toast the chopped almonds (or if you're using toasted almonds, warm them just before serving).

Salt and pepper to taste and toss with margarine if desired. Top with the warm toasted almonds and go feed your starving guests.

This recipe is loosely adapted from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home". I make this often when I have dinner guests 'cause it's delicious. The book suggests serving it with steamed green beans tossed with a honey mustard vinaigrette.