It was time to harvest some of my fresh basil. I already had made basil appetizers, but I needed more uses for basil. I had about a cup of left-over rice and thought, “A rice pilaf recipe!” I have made quite a few rice pilaf recipes which some I liked and others I really didn’t. This one tasted amazing! It is also very easy and fast to make. The one thing I did different this time is to not use a chicken or beef broth, which makes this a vegan rice pilaf recipe. Instead, I added additional extra virgin olive oil. You can make a meal of it by adding egg for protein, if you are not on a vegan diet. You will see photos of both versions below. This is a must try!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked white or brown rice
- 1/8 – 1/4 yellow onion
- 6-8 small to medium sized fresh basil leaves
- olive oil for cooking (appx. 120 calories per tablespoon – so you be the judge)
Instructions
- Chop onion and basil in a small food processor or by hand.
- Saute in a preheated, oiled pan until onion is translucent.
- Add extra oil, enough to coat rice.
- Add left over rice until warm.
- Serve warm.
Rice Pilaf with Egg
Basil Fried Rice Version
- Set rice pilaf aside.
- Scramble one egg in same frying pan.
- Chop in bite size or small pieces.
- Add to rice mixture and toss.
- Serve warm.
Enjoy! I sure did!
I think I’ll try this again in the near future and add some pine nuts. I’ll report back here by leaving a comment when I do.
Basil has plenty of Vitamin K. Stay tuned for my soon to be posted article on Vitamin K.
