Miso Rice with Carrots and Parsnips

Ah, New Years’ resolutions. Every January, most of us come up with a few optimistic promises to ourselves in hopes of somehow improving our lives in the coming year. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the idea that every year provides a fresh start, an opportunity to reassess where we are in life and, having found areas for improvement, move onward and upward. It’s just that all too often, we health-minded folks resolve to deny ourselves all things delicious, tightening our belts a notch and buckling into a boring, dismal diet regime.

And so, for all of you who’ve resolved to eat healthier in 2011, I’d like to provide another option. How about we resolve to just treat ourselves better? To fill our lives with awesome, tasty food and equally awesome people to share it with? Sounds pretty good, right?

In the spirit of being good to ourselves and our tummies, I present you with a real humdinger of a healthy recipe. It’s packed with antioxidants, whole grains, and just about every other buzz-word-nutritional-powerhouse-thing you can imagine. It’s also vegan and gluten free. You pretty much couldn’t find anything healthier if you tried. But here’s the catch — it also happens to be pretty darned delicious. What you see here is brown rice napped in a super-savory miso sauce, mixed with al dente root vegetables and spiked with a hit of freshly grated ginger. Garnished with some simply roasted kabocha squash, supremed slices of pomelo, sliced avocado and a little cilantro, it makes a perfect mid-winter meal.

Miso Rice with Carrots and Parsnips

serves 4-6

1 1/2 C. short-grain brown rice
2 C. water

1/4 C. shiro (“white”) miso paste
2 1/2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. agave syrup
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. microplaned ginger
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 small parsnip, peeled and diced
3 inner ribs celery, leaves included, diced
2 large shallots, diced

cilantro, for garnish

1. In a medium (2-quart) saucepan, combine the brown rice and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn down to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for another 10 minutes.

2. While the rice is cooking, combine miso paste, rice vinegar, agave syrup, olive oil, ginger, sesame oil, and cayenne pepper in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a medium (10″) skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the carrot, parsnip, celery and shallots, sauteeing for about 5 minutes, or until root vegetables are cooked through.

4. Add the rice and miso mixture to the skillet. Stir to combine. Garnish with cilantro and serve.