One Pan Forbidden Lentil Rice

Few times a week I like to cook vegetarian or vegan dishes. Today for lunch I made a one-pan meal. I sauteed veggies, added forbidden rice and some red lentils for protein. You also can add another kind of lentils, tofu, edamame or ground meat. I don’t recommend adding beans because they take longer to cook, you are going to need way more liquid and the texture of the rice is going to be more on the soupy side. If you have cooked beans (canned beans), you can add them when the rice is completely cooked. Forbidden rice or sometimes called black rice has a good amount of antioxidants, protein, iron and fiber. Just know that it is a pricey rice and it takes a little longer to cook. For the vegetables you can use anything. I had some kale stems from a previous recipe that I didn’t use, so I chopped the stems and added them to the vegetables. Some kimchi would go great with this dish. Let me know which combination you chose!

Serves: 2 people Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: Around 20/30 mins

Ingredients:

3 mini sweet bell peppers

½ small onion

4 kale stems

1 small carrot

Chopped garlic. I used 2 cubes of Trader Joe's frozen chopped garlic

Chopped ginger. I used 1 cube of Trader Joe's frozen ginger

½ cup black forbidden rice

¼ cup lentils

2 cups of broth or water

Salt and pepper

Lime

Olive oil

Add ons: Kimchi, fried egg, chopped cilantro, chopped green onions

Directions:

1. Dice all of the vegetables

2. Saute all of the diced vegetables with olive oil

3. Add the garlic and ginger

4. Add the rice and lentils

5. Stir

6. Add the liquid

7. Stir

8. Bring to a simmer

9. Cover

10. Lower the heat to low

11. Cook until all the liquid is gone and the rice is aldente

12. Taste for salt and pepper

13. Serve with a splash of lime juice and extra virgin olive oil

14. Add your favorite toppings. I added toasted garlicky seeds