Beet Rice—or, If You Prefer, Pink Rice
With the holiday almost here, let me kick things off with a world-class cliché: we eat with our eyes first. Groundbreaking stuff, I know. Surely you've never heard that one before?
This pink rice, which I'm planning to serve at our holiday dinner, is cheerful, festive, and beautiful. I'm pretty sure everyone will be reaching for it.
So, what's in it?
The pink color comes from my favorite vegetable: beets. I grated a beet, then squeezed it well to extract the juice.
Beets are wonderfully nutritious, rich in antioxidants and a range of minerals. I'm a particularly big fan.
To make things extra festive, I added sliced almonds, pomegranate seeds, parsley, lemon, and silan (date syrup). Happy belly, happy table.
I think this bright, beautiful side dish has everything it takes to be the star of the holiday table.
A Few Tips for Making Beet Rice
I used organic long-grain rice from Harduf (an Israeli organic food brand), who also collaborated on this recipe. I prefer long-grain rice for dishes like this—is it a side dish? A salad?—because it holds its shape after cooking and isn't overly starchy.
As I mentioned, the pink color comes from the juice of a grated, squeezed beet. You can use store-bought beet juice if you can find it, but making your own is my first choice.
Pomegranate seeds, almonds, and parsley bring the festive feel. Feel free to play around: mint, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil would all be wonderful additions or swaps.
I added lemon juice for a gentle tang and to help preserve the beet's pink color – my advice is to keep this ingredient as is.
Nutrition Information from Noam Bachar (an Israeli clinical dietitian and fitness trainer):
One 80 g (2.8 oz) serving of beet rice contains:
- 127 calories
- 3 g protein
- 22 g carbohydrates
- 3 g fat
Want another beet recipe? How about ptitim (Israeli pearl couscous)?
Beet Rice
Pink rice with beets, pomegranate seeds, almonds, and parsley
Ingredients
- Cheesecloth or a clean muslin cloth
- 1 cup Harduf organic long-grain white rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- 1 beet, peeled
Mix-Ins
- 2 tablespoons blanched almonds
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- Handful of chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons grated beet reserved from the cloth after squeezing out the juice
- Juice of 1 whole lemon
- 1 teaspoon silan
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a medium saucepan.
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Add the 1 cup of rice and stir well to coat.
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Toast the rice over high heat for 1–2 minutes.
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Pour in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
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Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 18–20 minutes.
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Remove from the heat.
Make the Beet Juice
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Grate the beet using a box grater.
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Transfer the grated beet to the cheesecloth or muslin and sprinkle with a little salt to draw out the juices. Let sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze firmly over a bowl.
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Pour 1–2 tablespoons of beet juice into the saucepan of rice and stir until the rice turns pink.
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Transfer the rice to a bowl. Add the reserved grated beet, pomegranate seeds, parsley, almonds, lemon juice, and silan, and mix well.
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Serve at room temperature.
