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Spiced Ground Beef and Herb Rice Bowls

My wife and I love foods with big, bright, spicy flavors. Coming out of the holidays, we are trying to eat healthier dinner-style salads and grain bowls that satisfy our cravings for delicious foods, without too much added fat.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp sunflower seed oil
  • 1 white onion (medium dice)
  • 16 oz 1 lb ground beef, roughly 90% lean
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic (or ½ tsp garlic powder)
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
  • Freshly-ground black pepper (for serving)
  • ¾ cup basmati rice (rinsed and drained)
  • 2 Roma tomatoes (large dice)
  • ½ tsp Kosher salt
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • ½ red onion (small dice)
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup fresh chives (finely sliced)
  • 12 mint leaves (finely sliced)
  • Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce (for serving)
  • 1 fresh lime (cut into wedges, for serving)
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt (for serving)

Instructions 

  • Heat the sunflower seed oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
  • Add the diced onions, along with the ground beef and one teaspoon of Kosher salt.
  • Cook the onions and ground beef for roughly five minutes, while stirring.
  • Add the red pepper flakes, along with the granulated garlic, cumin, and oregano, and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through.
  • Stir in the fresh cilantro, and remove the contents from the heat.
  • Add some freshly-ground black pepper to the ground beef after it is done cooking.
  • For the rice, rinse and drain your basmati rice, and add the rice to a rice cooking pot.
  • Cover the rice with roughly 1.25 cups water, and bring the contents to a simmer.
  • Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce the heat to low.
  • Allow the rice to cook with the lid for roughly 16 minutes, and then remove the cooked rice from the heat.
  • Uncover the rice, and fluff the grains lightly with a fork to separate the grains and release some built-up steam.
  • Add the rice to a large mixing bowl.
  • Gently incorporate the diced Roma tomatoes, Kosher salt, lime zest, lime juice, diced red onions, fresh cilantro, parsley, chives, and mint.
  • Taste, and season with more Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, if desired.
  • Serve the rice in bowls, topped with some of the seasoned ground beef, shredded lettuce, fresh lime, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and Greek yogurt.

Notes

Adjust the fresh herb mix in the rice and ground beef to your liking—a small percentage of people are genetically predisposed to dislike cilantro!
You can serve any extra ground beef or herb rice with a salad the next day.