Rice with Tomatoes

I was going to call this dish “tomato rice” but did some searching and found that tomato rice is a Persian dish that includes different spices along with the tomatoes. This is just another way sans the spices to use fresh summer tomatoes you might have laying around. The rice soaks up the tomatoey flavor and your left with a comforting tomatoey rice.

Recipe by: Tierney Larson

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice

2 tbl unsalted butter

1 tbl olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt (diamond brand, if Morton’s use 1/2 tsp)

3 ripe tomatoes, cores removed and finely chopped

2 1/2 cups of water

Torn Basil leaves for serving

Rinse the rice under cold water for about 1 minute while rubbing the grains together to wash off the extra starches. Drain and set aside.

Start a wide sauce pan over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted and is starting to sizzle, add the rice and the salt and stir to coat. Toast for 2-3 minutes stirring now and then, until the rice has a nutty aroma. Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook stirring for another minute or so, and then add the water. Bring to a boil and then quickly cover and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Let steam for 20 minutes. Then turn the heat off and let sit covered for 10 more minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve with torn basil leaves. Enjoy!