2011, Recipe 58: Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans and Chickpeas

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 1 bunch chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in rice, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, then pour in chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. Place the turkey in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown.
3. Gently mix cooked turkey, garbanzo beans, black beans, cilantro, parsley, and pine nuts into the cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper.

Results: I used brown rice instead of basmati.  Just cook it according to the package if you're using brown rice subbing stock for water.  I always sub stock for water in recipes like this one.  I also don't believe in pine nuts because they're so ridiculously expensive.  I bought them ONCE when I had access to the Dekalb World Market in Georgia (better known as HEAVEN).  The prices at the place = out of this world!!  Love it!  This was so yummy, y'all!!