Baked Rice With White Beans, Leeks and Lemon

This was really good! I didn't have leeks so I used a sweet onion. I only had brown basmati so added a little more water (1/2 cup) and cooking time (25 min then let it sit covered for 10 minutes). My herbs were basil and oregano as that is what I had fresh from the garden and it was really good! Great alone, as stated, or as a side dish. I otherwise followed the recipe and I will make it again.

The one thing I would suggest for everyone using this recipe would be to use some sort of stock (I used half vegetable/half chicken) in place of the plain boiling water. I also doubled the amount of almonds and used brown jasmine rice in place of white. The cooking time after adding the rice was more like 70 minutes or so when using brown rice. This added cooking time allowed the leeks to develop a deeper flavor and also served to soften the almonds a bit more.

I have made this twice and it is easy and simply fantastic! Both times I cooked it in a single pot using a 12" cast iron skillet. Saute the leeks until soft. Add the lemon zest and rice and toss for a minute. No need to boil the water first, just add it to the hot skillet and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the beans over the top, cover with lid or foil and into the oven. This dish is now a 25-30 minute meal. Used cannellini once. Pinto the second time. I think about doubling the beans.

WOW. Great recipe. It was 102 degrees outside in Sonoma County when I made this, so I decided to bake it in my gas grill in a large iron pan, and it worked absolutely perfectly. I did everything else as noted except I used instead of water my "Liquid Gold" aka homemade veggie broth that I always have on hand in the freezer. Absolute perfection. The rice burned a bit on the bottom, which made it so amazing. Super important to add that squeeze of lemon on your plate - brings out all the flavors.

Why not caramelize the leaks by just sautéing in a pan rather than in the oven? It would be faster and more even

Mince the lemon strips and add to pan before baking in step 2 rather than fishing out hot strips to mince after baking.

Unlike many of the commenters here, I followed this recipe exactly and had a fantastic result. The dish was extraordinarily well-balanced and delicious. It was also very easy to execute- I love a one-pan meal! I am one of those people who never manages to cook rice properly, even in a rice cooker, and this method resulted in perfect, fluffy rice. A lovely, light supper that my husband and I will make again and again.

We had a lot of middle eastern leaning ingredients so we changed the vibe of the recipe--subbed 1 tbsp harissa for the red pepper flakes, preserved lemon for the lemon, and chickpeas for the white beans. We also serve with yogurt sauce instead of topping with parm. We LOVE this and have made it several times now. Very adaptable!

Yum! Adapted this to Instant Pot by sautéing the leeks in the IP and then adding rice (well rinsed) beans, and only 1.5c of stock, then cooked on Rice setting. Turned out perfectly, will def. make again

Be prepared to eat 3 oz of parmesan while prepping this meal

This easily adaptable, super-abundant recipe is now among my favorite sides. Cutting it in half, I get four good servings. I’ve tried it with and without the beans (great both ways) and haven’t yet used Parmesan because I like to serve it with fish. Dill, not mentioned in the recipe, is a wonderful addition. Don’t even think of skiping the roasted lemon peel (as I just did to save time). Fishing out to chop it is fiddly, but roadted peel adds a whole layer of flavor to the dish.

Alexandra De Vos, you ask :What could you substutute for the almonds? Sunflower or sesame seeds? Or other nuts? I am allergic to almonds but I do love the taste." Sounds as if you are not allergic to other tree nuts? If not, it may be that shelled pistachios are a good substitute here for texture and general size to replace almonds. And pistachios are in general a good partner with rice and lemon.

I made this with long grain brown rice. Definitely needed longer time in the oven, but overall delicious. I froze leftovers and they reheated nicely a couple of weeks later.

Loved the flavor and texture, but I did make changes: - Cooked the lemon zest with the leeks - Cooked dried beans first and used the bean broth as the liquid - Used brown basmati, because that’s what I had, plus 3c of liquid, as suggested by previous post - Maybe because of the brown rice or my inconsistent oven (or both), but it took me 50min to cook the rice until the liquid evaporated. Then I turned off oven and left in for another 10 to let the steam finish the rice - nice and fluffy!

Loved this one-dish meal! I used sliced almonds and cannellini beans, and mint for my herb. Also added green peas after fluffing the rice for color and added interest. Had to bake around 10 minutes longer than the recipe notes due to the rice I used (just a regular long-grain, not specifically basmati). Definitely a repeat. Next time I plan to add garlic during Step 1 to add even more depth.