Fragrant Pesto Rice with Toasted Sunflower Seeds

07 November 2016

Perhaps this is my Italian genes coming through, but I am a huge pesto fan!! In my opinion pesto tastes amazing on just about everything!! So this pesto rice combo (as you can imagine) features weekly in my home! Such a treat, and my family really enjoys it! I use brown basmati rice for this recipe to ensure Low GI, long lasting energy, but you can also use Jasmine rice if this I more suited for your taste buds. Quinoa is also a great option to use as your grain base, so I will leave that part up to you. I don’t use cheese in my pesto recipe, but if you’re a big fan of Parmesan then by all means add in as you please. A great bonus with this recipe, is that basil is rich in antioxidants, making this a fantastic dish to eliminate toxins in the body.

Serves 4 | Ready in 40 mins

Ingredients

For Rice

1 cup brown basmati rice

3 cups boiling water

1 tsp Himalayan Rock salt

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

½ cup sunflower seeds – dry toasted

¼ cup pumpkin seeds – dry toasted

1 cup chopped tomato

1 cup fresh rocket

½ avocado – chopped into cubes

For Pesto

2 cups fresh basil

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup pinenuts

½ tsp. Himalayan pink salt

¼ tsp xylitol

1 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. crushed garlic

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Rice

Place boiled water into a medium sized pot. Add olive oil and salt and bring to the boil on high heat. Reduce heat and add brown basmati rice. Allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes until rice is cooked through as soft. Once cooked, remove from heat and allow to cool.

Step 2: Prepare Pesto

Add all pesto ingredients to a food processor and blend thoroughly until all ingredients are well combined and thick pesto forms. For a lighter consistency, add more olive oil.

Step 3: Combine

Add pesto to rice and stir well until well incorporated. Place mixture on medium heat and allow to heat up. Now add tomatoes, and stir well on low heat. Allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. If required, add a little more olive oil here. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly

Step 4: Garnish

Place pesto rice into large serving dish, top with chopped avo, toasted pumpkin seeds, toasted sunflower seeds and fresh rocket