This side dish came to be the other night when I made the Tarragon Cream-Coated Chicken. I was getting a bit tired of baked potatoes for a side dish and wanted something new and a bit more creative.
Summer is by far the best time of year when it comes to herbs. You can get everything fresh which always tastes better than the dried counterparts. Because of this, I chose to use fresh rosemary and basil, which pair so well with summer squash. For a bit more flavor, I opted to cook the rice in my homemade vegetable broth rather than water; this worked out quite well and gave a nice additional flavor to the rice without adding in any fats or oils.
The resulting flavors were perfectly spiced with the savory rosemary and basil tastes and the squash and rice were cooked to perfection. It paired wonderfully with the Taragon Cream-Coated Chicken and since it went over so well I made it again tonight for my mom’s birthday dinner. I made the Strawberry & Toasted Almond Crusted Chicken and this rice and once again the rice worked well. My mom absolutely loved both the chicken and the rice and she said you would never know the recipes were based around any dietary restrictions. Score!
What’s nice about it is that everything gets thrown in and cooked together, so you have a tasty one pot side dish that is done in less than 30 minutes.
This will definitely be a recurring side dish in our house and might even be morphed into a meal down the road by adding in some cooked, chopped up chicken breasts. Whatever you choose to do with it, I hope you like it!
Savory Jasmine Rice w/Summer Squash
Ingredients
- 180 g jasmine rice (uncooked) - 180g=1 cup
- 2 cups vegetable broth (I use my homemade IBS/GERD Friendly Broth, recipe here)
- 125 g zucchini (uncooked, washed and chopped)
- 125 g yellow squash (uncooked, washed and chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary (chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. fresh basil (chopped)
- 1/2-3/4 tsp. salt (I use pink rose himalayan salt which seems to be a bit less potent than regular salt. If you're using regular salt you may want to use a bit less. I recommend starting with 1/2 tsp., then taste testing at the end and adding more in if needed)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat and cook until the water just begins to boil (should be ~3-4 minutes).
- When it starts boiling, stir the rice, cover the pot, reduce heat and summer covered for ~12-15 minutes, until rice is fully cooked.
- Remove from heat, stir and add additional salt, if needed. Serve rice as is as a side dish or throw in some cooked, chopped chicken breasts to make it a meal.
Notes
- You want to make sure to have no more than 1/4 of the finished rice at a time.
- This recipe may not be suitable for those with GERD/Acid Reflux that are in the "dropping acid" phase (har de har har, I know) due to the rosemary. This is more for those who have gotten their acid levels under control and are in the maintenance phase.
*The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.*
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