Name: Rice and Lentils with Spiced Beef and Crispy Onions
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 12 cups water; 1 cup long-grain white rice; 1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 (15-ounce) can lentils, rinsed; 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt; 1 cup canned fried onions; 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Why This Recipe Works

This is a fast, weeknight riff on the classic Lebanese dish mujaddara. Boiling the rice in 3 quarts of water cooks it in almost half the usual time.

Before You Begin

Serve with lemon wedges.

Instructions

Bring water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain rice in fine-mesh strainer.

Meanwhile, cook beef in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking meat into small pieces with spoon, until just beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and pumpkin pie spice and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add rice and lentils to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Transfer rice mixture to platter. Drizzle with yogurt and sprinkle with fried onions and dill. Serve.