Last night, Dennis, Kylie and I were invited to a good friend’s for a barbecue. Paul, Elizabeth and Rachel have been friends since our girls were in first grade and we consider them to be more than friends, to us they are family. I asked Elizabeth what I could bring and she suggested rice or a side dish. I decided on rice since I haven’t had it in quite a while. I knew she was making chicken, but didn’t know how it would be seasoned, etc. When we got to their home, she was telling me how she marinated her chicken in a citrus marinade and made a lime icebox cake for dessert. I couldn’t believe it, I had prepared citrus rice, with no idea at all she was going with a citrus theme … you know what they say “Great minds ….. “!

I’ve been making cilantro lime rice for years, but decided to add fresh orange zest and juice to my recipe, which turned out wonderful. Everyone loved it! It was the accompaniment to Elizabeth’s fabulous chicken. And, oh boy, if you could have tasted her dessert … wow, it was so refreshing.

I started by making basmati rice. I followed the directions on the bag, except I added 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to the water and rice. Once the rice was done, I added butter that I had cut into little cubes.

Once the butter was combined with the rice, I added the juice and zest of 5 limes and the juice and zest of 1 naval orange.

I minced one bunch of cilantro, which was equivalent to one cup and mixed that into the rice, as well as a teaspoon of kosher salt.

I spooned the rice into a serving dish and it was ready to bring to our friend’s for dinner.

Ingredients

2 cups white rice

4 cups water

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon for finishing

1 bunch cilantro (1 cup)

zest and juice of 5 limes

zest and juice of 1 naval orange

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package directions, adding 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to water and rice before cooking.
2. Once rice is cooked, add butter and stir. Add zest and juice of citrus and stir again.
3. Add cilantro and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and combine.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris