Mediterranean Rice with Chickpeas and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This Mediterranean rice with chickpeas and sun dried tomatoes is the perfect complement to easy Mediterranean rice bowl meals. Big flavor, perfectly separated grains, no presoaking.

We eat a lot of Mediterranean rice bowls and while we love plain ole' basmati, sometimes we also like to mix things up.

This Mediterranean inspired basmati rice is made with canned chickpeas for a nice pop of creamy and hearty texture. With the added chickpeas, this rice is hearty enough to stand alone as a vegetarian one pot meal.

The sun dried tomato adds sweetness and a tiny bit of zing (you can always up it with a squeeze or lemon juice if you like). Onion and garlic of course for that savory flavor base, and then fresh parsley adds a bit of herbal flavor and a lovely pop of color.

The key step to make this rice amazing (beautifully separated grains and chickpeas ...not stodgy, thick or congealed) is to toast the basmati. In this case at the same time as the onion to save time.

This step only takes about 5 minutes in the same skillet, totally eliminating the need to presoak the rice in a bowl before cooking, which saves you both time and bowl.

This works (better than presoaking in my opinion) because toasting rice in oil (or butter) seals and dries out the outer layer of starch which prevents it from gelling and clumping all the grains together when water is added. You get perfectly separated grains every time.

Ingredients

Basmati rice: Long-grain, aromatic rice that cooks up light and separate. Substitutes are jasmine rice, long-grain white rice or American long-grain rice. Brown basmati also works but you'll need to add a half cup more water and cook for much longer (about 30-35 minutes covered).

Chickpeas: Add creamy hearty contrast to the rice. Plus more nutrition - chickpeas add protein, fiber, iron, folate and potassium.

Sun-dried tomatoes: Provide concentrated sweetness, zing, and umami; finely dicing for even distribution.

Yellow onion: Just half is enough to add sweetness and some depth. Yellow onions cook up very sweet and savory so they're perfect for this but subbing other varieties is fine.

Garlic: Bonus points if you add one clove at the start and one at the end - layered garlic flavor.

Fresh parsley: Adds sweet earthy herbal flavor while cooking and then a pop of fresh contrast and color as a garnish. Also great if you add other finely diced herbs like mint, oregano, chives/green onion or cilantro.

Olive oil: The oil is for toasting the basmati and sauteing the onion. Butter or other oil are also okay.

Instructions

First prep your ingredients:

• Finely dice the half onion;
• Mince or mash the garlic;
• Dice up the sun dried tomato;
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas;
• Finely chop the parsley and other green herbs if using.

Now we cook.

As mentioned above, no presoaking. Instead we're doing pre-toasting.

Hear the oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rice and onion. Toss to coat in oil and then cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucently and maybe lightly browned.

The rice will also lightly brown as you see in the photo below. Just be sure to keep stirring so it doesn't burn.

Once the rice and onion are lightly browned and aromatic, the majority of your job is done.

Just add all the remaining ingredients (save some parsley for garnish), add water and cook.

You'll need to add 750ml (3 cups) water for 1.5 cups basmati. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. About 5 minutes in, give it a stir so everything is evenly combined.

You'll know it's ready when there's no more water in the bottom of the skillet. The rice grains will be puffed up and light after fluffing.

If in doubt taste and see.

If the rice grains are still too al dente for your taste, add 1-2 tablespoons of water and continue cooking covered for 2-3 minutes.

Fluff the rice then garnish with remaining chopped fresh parsley.

Serving Suggestion

As mentioned this chickpea rice makes a great base for Mediterranean bowls.

You can add various on-theme additions like:

• A protein like creamy tomato chicken and eggplant bake or Greek meatballs in tomato sauce;
• Keep it simple with canned fish like sardines or tuna;
• Stuffed vegetables like stuffed eggplants, stuffed leeks (with meat & rice or vegetarian chickpea), stuffed peppers or stuffed grape leaves as shown below;
• A big hunk of feta (very popular in our house) or some grilled halloumi;
• Hummus or other beans like garlicky Romanian white bean dip;
• Cooked, fresh or pickled vegetables like sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, crispy roasted mushrooms, za'atar butter cabbage steaks, or fresh green beans in garlicky tomato sauce.

The possibilities are endless!

Recipe

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