Food Recipes Side Dishes Lemon Brown Rice with Garlic and Thyme 4.7 (11) 16 Reviews This tangy garlic brown rice dish can be served either warm or chilled, as a salad or side. By Emily Farris Emily Farris Emily Farris is a food and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Food & Wine, Food52, Country Living, CNN, The Daily Beast and many more. She has also written a cookbook, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven and appears in Women on Food by Charlotte Druckman. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 9, 2023 Rate PRINT Share Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Yield: 6 servings Don't write off brown rice as boring! If you've only ever used it as a vehicle on which to serve saucy curries and the like, brown rice recipes such as this one will show you how to transform bland into bold. Cooking rice is different from cooking pasta. If you're looking for a truly neutral flavor, then sure, you can definitely cook your rice with water until it's tender and call it a day. But unlike pasta, which depends on sauce or added seasoning after it's boiled for flavor, there are lots of opportunities to add interest to rice throughout the entire cooking process. 25 Rice Dish Recipes From Around the World In this lemon brown rice recipe, we start with glorious butter. A generous amount is melted in the saucepan; then we cook a finely chopped shallot until soft. Next, we add the brown rice. Instead of immediately adding liquid as well, we first stir the rice into the buttery shallots and cook for a few minutes to lightly toast the grains, bringing out their natural nuttiness. When it's time to pour in the liquid, we go for vegetable stock instead of water, seasoning everything with salt and pepper. As the rice cooks, it will absorb the flavor of the stock and the gentle sweetness of the shallot. After the rice is taken off the heat, it's time to briefly cook the thyme, chile flakes, and garlic in olive oil, just until the garlic begins to brown. We then add lemon juice and zest to the mixture and season with salt and pepper. This gets stirred into the fluffed rice, and voilà! We've got a beautiful garlic brown rice that can be served either warm or chilled as a side dish or a base for protein. Ingredients 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice 3 cups vegetable stock Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Zest of one lemon Directions Diana Chistruga Gather the ingredients. Diana Chistruga In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Diana Chistruga Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Diana Chistruga Add the stock, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Diana Chistruga Cover and simmer over low heat until the broth is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Diana Chistruga In a skillet, heat the oil, garlic, thyme, and chile flakes over moderately low heat. Cook until garlic is just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Diana Chistruga Remove from heat and add lemon juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with cooked rice and serve. Diana Chistruga Note If following a gluten-free diet, be sure to use gluten-free stock. Serve with Grilled fish, roasted chicken, or grilled vegetables. Originally appeared: November 2013 Rate It Print