Cilantro Pesto

A few weeks ago I was reading my email and saw a link to a cilantro recipe. I had some of the ingredients it called for- chicken, cilantro, lemon, garlic and olive oil. I did not have broccoli or soba noodles, so I used green beans (I had an abundance of those) and brown rice. Oh, and I threw in some tofu for fun.

In the food processor. Mmmm smells good.

My two favorite tools in the kitchen. If you don't have a microplaner...
you are missing out! It works for everything.

This meal came out really tasty. Rhayn, my picky eater loved it. The tofu could have been left out, the chicken was tasty though. I will find the recipe later and add it (with my changes). But for now, I need to read my lovely girls a story and take a benadryl in hopes that my sneezy, stuffy nose is allergies and not a cold.


Recipe- Original
With the changes I made.

Cilantro Rice Bowl Recipe

An amount of short grain brown rice (I never measure.)
2 - 3 cups green beans or broccoli florets
zest of one lemon
2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (I omitted this completely, because the girls were watching.)
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
scant 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces extra-firm nigari tofu
OR
2 chicken breasts- butterflied

Put rice in rice cooker (or if you are not sophisticated enough and don't own one... cook it however you like.) Steam green beans or broccoli. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and retain the bright green color. Sprinkle with lemon zest and set aside.

In the meantime make the dressing by combining the cilantro, garlic, cayenne, salt, and olive oil. Blend in a food processor or chop by hand. Taste, adjust for more salt if needed and set aside.

Bake the chicken and or tofu in the oven at 450 degrees. For the tofu- slice the hunk of tofu into halves and place a little oil on a pan (or pizza stone if you have it.) Bake until crispy on the outside. Bake the chicken until it has a little bit of golden color to it. Then slice the tofu and/or chicken into bite-sized pieces.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice, veggie and a couple big splashes of the cilantro dressing. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and/or chicken and gently toss again, add more dressing and a couple pinches of salt if needed. Turn out onto platter and crown with a couple pinches of cayenne and a squeeze of lemon juice.