Lovely Lavender, Apricot and Pomegranate Rice Pilaf with Fresh Herbs

Tonight, in true Sunday Supper fashion Danica, Peter and I whipped up an indulgent meal that, in sum, contained about one solid stick of butter... This rice was a SHOW STOPPER and now officially in my top-5 favorite recipes. I highly encourage you to try it out. The delicious halibut (courtesy of Peter) crusted in almonds and cashews with a hefty amount of lazy persons' beurre blanc was the perfect accompaniment.


Lovely Lavender, Apricot and Pomegranate Rice Pilaf with Fresh Herbs
Serves 4-6 as a side...But, is definitely worth making a meal out of. In which case, I'd say it would serve 3-4 with a nice salad to round out the meal.

Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 4 celery ribs, diced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled & chopped
- 1 cup brown basmati rice
- 2 cups vegetable broth (I always use Imagine Organics No-Chicken broth)
- 2 tablespoons candied ginger diced
- 2 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 big handfuls of fresh pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped dried Turkish apricots
- the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds and cashews chopped
- 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup chopped fresh spearmint

Directions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan, add celery and onions and cook until soft.
- Add garlic and rice; stir until thoroughly coated with butter.
- Add broth, ginger, lavender and salt.
- Bring to boil; reduce heat to low.
- Cover and cook without stirring until liquid is absorbed (about 40 minutes).
- When rice is cooked (but still has a tiny bit of liquid), stir in pomegranate seeds, apricots, and lemon juice. Stir on low for about one more minute to warm up the fruit.
- Add chopped nuts and herbs and enjoy a delicious, fragrant meal!

Adapted from here: http://www.recipezaar.com/Savory-Rice-Pilaf-With-Lavender-Apricots-66672

The original recipe called for currants instead of pomegranate, far less chopped herbs and chicken broth...I opted to make it vegetarian, and always think more green is better! While the currants were replaced due to my inability to find them anywhere, I think I liked the pomegranate better, it was less sweet, and added a bright, tart flavor that really rounded out the savory quality of the lavender.