Georgette’s Really Lemony Greek Pilafi
If you’ve loved lemony Greek rice in a restaurant, use this recipe for Georgette’s Really Lemony Greek Pilafi to make it at home! Use Side Dishes to find more recipes like this one.
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I was excited when I learned to make Pilafi (Greek Lemon Rice) from my friend Georgette because it was one of many Greek dishes I’d always loved in restaurants. Georgette recommended Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice to make this, and I was excited again when I learned that Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice is a low-glycemic type of rice, even though it’s white rice. Apparently the “converting” of the rice (parboiling) removes some of the starch and makes it slower to digest than regular white rice.
I made this rice over and over when I first started eating the South Beach Diet way, and it’s still one of my very favorite side dishes. In fact, I have a plastic container of rice in my cupboard with this recipe written on the side with a sharpie marker, that’s how often I make it! Don’t be put off by the package directions for a cooking time that is much shorter than this recipe indicates, trust me and cook it at very low heat for the length of time that Georgette recommends.
Georgette's Really Lemony Greek Pilafi
If you’ve loved lemony Greek rice in a restaurant, use this recipe for Georgette’s Really Lemony Greek Pilafi to make it at home!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice (not instant)
- 2 T olive oil (or 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 T lemon juice (or more)
- 3 C chicken stock (stock should be hot or boiling when you add to rice)
Directions:
- Start heating stock in a separate pan, or heat in microwave so it’s very hot or boiling.
- Use a heavy pan with a tight fitting lid.
- Saute rice in olive oil for 2 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t brown too much.
- Add salt and lemon juice to rice and saute 1 minute more.
- Add chicken stock slowly and carefully so it doesn’t splash up on you, and let it come to a boil.
- Then reduce heat to the lowest you can get it and still keep the liquid boiling and cook 30 minutes without peeking at all.
- After 30 minutes you are allowed to peek to see if all the liquid is absorbed.
- If not cook a few more minutes until it has.
- I find it usually takes 35 minutes, but I can’t keep myself from peeking after 30 minutes.
Notes:
Recipe from Georgette, who probably learned to make it from her Greek mother!
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Georgette’s Really Lemony Greek Pilafi would be limited to phase 2 or 3 for the South Beach Diet, and this is too high in carbs for a low-carb diet plan.
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36 Comments on “Georgette’s Really Lemony Greek Pilafi”
Thanks. I may decide to do a double batch using 5 cups of stock but doubling all the other ingredients. I'll let you know how it comes out.
Joan, I haven't made a double batch, but I am guess it would work. It reheats well, so you could make one batch ahead and then a second batch the next day.
Lately I have been using slightly less stock in this and cooking for slightly shorter time to get a more chewy rice.
I plan on making this rice and greek chicken and your tzatziki this holiday weekend for about 8 people and was wondering if doubling the recipe works or should I make 2 batches as written?
Great recipe! My kids who don't like rice much loved it. I made it with brown rice and it turned out great.
(DK, glad you liked it! I tried to publish this comment from the iPhone, but must have hit reject instead of publish, sorry it was so slow to show up here! Kalyn)
Nari, I do eat this type of thing all the time, except when I’m doing phase one every so often. South Beach is not a low carb diet, so my body is used to eating a certain amount of carbs. I’m careful to choose things that South Beach considers to be “good carbs.” This is a low glycemic type of rice that’s good for South Beach dieters.
Kalyn,please..how many pounds did you gain on your weight with the last month rcipies? I love rice but I can not even think of it since I started low carbing.
I seem to be getting even worse than usual about replying to comments, but I’m reading them all. Murasaki would love to see what kind of variation of this you’d come up with using a more Asian type rice.
I want to try this but I’m quite set in my ways about rice so I can’t bring myself to use Uncle Ben’s rice or cook it in a different way from how my grandmother taught me. 🙂 I’ll give this a go and post the results and link to you some time soon if that’s ok? 🙂
This sounds good and I’m not much of a rice fan. I am, however, a lemon fan.
I usually cook 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid for about 20 minutes. The extra cup of liquid would probably be absorbed during the extra cooking time.
Sally
That’s really interesting – that parboiling lowers the glycaemic index of the rice… Either way, the dish sounds delicious and just right for early spring.
Ahh, nice to see Georgette’s dishes here and there. As you, us Greeks love our lemons.
Kerstin, agreed!
Susan, oh yes. Brown rice is very good, and Uncle Bens and basmatic are both pretty good for white rice.
Maria, I just knew that man had good taste!
Josh loves lemon rice, I will have to make this for him.
I didn’t even know rice was on a low glycemic diet.
Yum, looks good – lemon always freshens things up!
Glad people are liking the sound of this. One of my favorite side dishes ever. I’ve made it over and over.
Maya, I think any type of white parboiled rice would work just fine.