I saw this recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice Pilaf on the Mercola site (link) and was immediately drawn to its ingredients and simplicity. Limes are surprisingly, not only tasty and zestful, but excellent for our health! It is always good to discuss a positive note, as opposed to my struggle to find the ‘positives’ from our Western infatuation with the BBQ! The key to health considerations and discipline is to always be flexible and work around an issue! I’m always somewhat embarrassed when there is major subjective overt dialogue for instance in restaurants! Be prepared to instinctively optimize the fact that you are sitting there in the first place and no doubt in a pleasant social surrounding with good friends! Some respectful requests for say switching french fries with salads and so on, are more than acceptable, but there is a kind of limit for practical restaurant results! Most cities and towns in this world are not quite the same as Venice Beach, California! If you are a regular reader of this Web site, then after a while the practical lifestyle compromises usually satisfy the 90% rule! That means you achieve really everything practically, even if you leave 10% or so on the table!
Back to the Limes…and there are two basic sour lime varieties, Tahitian, egg shaped, called Persian, and Key, which are smaller and more acidic…thus the expression for the pie..key lime! But the real punch comes from their fantastic nutritional benefits which include: antioxidants, vitamin C, flavonol glycosides and kaempferol. In addition this fruit originally from South East Asia, subject of barter and trade worldwide over the last thousand years or so, has demonstrated other dramatic advantages! We have discussed how the prevention of scurvy, a real problem for sailors, particularly the ‘first to the punch’, the British seafarers who found limes to be a literal life-saver. Thus the term for those sailors “Limeys“!
In rural Africa lime juice has even been used to fight the onset of cholera, which is a bacterial plague! AND has been found to be effective against parasites. My step father was a UN water consultant, particularly for Africa, and he always advocated lime as an excellent purification catalyst for water and subjecting say a glass container to sunlight for several hours. Solar disinfection of drinking water (SODIS) is the use of at least six hours of sunlight to exposed water. But limes with salt can dramatically increase the speed and effectiveness of this process! Dr. Mercola has made the point particularly that in the event of ‘dirty water’ that obstructs the sun rays using salt AND lime resolves that issue as the combination sediments the murk.
Enough of the health positives! Now the recipe and again thanks to Dr. Mercola’s perspicacity. All quite simple, and remember, if you are using it, this Website always prefers Himalayan or Sea Salt!.. recipe: Cilantro Lime Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cup white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup minced fresh cilantro
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp. fresh lime zest
Procedure:
- Place water, rice, butter, and salt in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, cover and lower to a simmer; cook about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, lime juice, and zest. Let the flavors meld together for a few minutes, covered, before serving.
Cooking Notes:
- You definitely want to use a long grain rice for this recipe and Basmati would be ideally suited for this dish.
- When picking limes, the smoother the rind the better the flavor that you will get from the zest.
- You might want to consider using vegetable or chicken broth in place of half the water portion as this will add layers to the flavor profile.
- Consider not adding any salt. Remember that most of the world eats rice without any added salt. This would be especially relevant if indeed you substitute a broth in for the water.
- If plated in a separate dish on the table, throw a garnish of cilantro on top and a couple of slices of lime.
