I know I said that I was making one recipe a week as my New Year’s resolution, but I decided to sneak another one in tonight.

Sometimes you just need a warm, home-cooked meal. You have leftovers sitting in the fridge, but they just don’t cut it. It’s a Wednesday but it feels like a Friday. You’re holding out for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, because being back at work is starting to grate on you…even though it’s only been a couple weeks. And let’s face it: It’s getting pretty cold outside.

Thus was my mental process as I walked home tonight. Then, I remembered that I had a recipe for turmeric rice with kale and toasted coconut in my back pocket. So as soon as I got home, I fired up the stove and oven and got to work.

This dish, while healthy, is the true definition of comfort food. Especially the turmeric rice…Maybe it’s the hearty vegetable stock, or the vibrant turmeric, but it just makes you FEEL good.

Add some steamed kale, sprinkle some toasted coconut and cashews on top and dig in.

Turmeric Rice with Kale, Toasted Coconut and Cashews (from Naturally Ella)

Ingredients

Turmeric Rice
2 teaspoons olive oil
¼ cup minced yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 cup short grain brown rice
1 teaspoon turmeric
1½ cups vegetable broth
¼ teaspoon salt, if needed

Kale
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup vegetable broth
¾ cup full-fat coconut milk
Salt
Toasted Cashews, for topping
Toasted Coconut Flakes, for topping

Directions

Heat a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Stir in the ginger, cooking for one minute. Next, add in the rice and turmeric, toasting for one more minute. Measure in the vegetable broth and bring mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 35 to 40 minutes, until the majority of liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Prepare the kale by removing the stems and cutting the leaves into ¼” strips. Towards the end of the rice being ready, heat the tablespoon of olive in a large, wide pot. Add in the garlic, cooking for roughly a minute. Add the chopped kale and stir to coat with the garlic. Add in the vegetable broth, cover, and let kale cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in the coconut milk and continue to cook greens until tender, roughly another 3 to 5 minutes more. Taste and add salt as needed.

Serve greens over a heft scoop of turmeric rice and top with toasted cashews and coconut.