My parents love brown rice. Me… not so much. Until recently, that is. I never found the dry, grainy texture of the rice to be that appetizing, especially when compared to my favorite carb, pasta. But the other night I was cooking with a friend, and I had decided we were going to be healthy and I was going to improve on our usual cooking techniques. My friend shared with me that she usually mixes it with olive oil and garlic powder. We made a slight variation of her recipe that night, and I have since cooked it several times. The rice is no longer dry, the flavors have depth, and the almonds are a good contrast in texture. Plus I’ve learned some presentation tricks with it as well!

Almond Slivered Brown Rice

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Brown Rice
• 2 1/4 Cup Water
• 1 Tbls EVOO
• Handful Slivered Almonds
• 1 Tbls Lesley Elizabeth’s Garlic Seasoning

Cook the brown rice in a pot, as directed per the packaging. When the rice is almost done, drizzle in the olive oil, slivered almonds and the garlic seasoning. Mix well and let sit on the heat for a few extra minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For plating, either serve in a ramekin or you can shape the rice in a ramekin, and then flip it out onto the plate – the rice will stay in the shape of the container it was in. The oil helps the grains hold together, giving the rice an elegant presentation.