We have always loved that rice pilaf stuff that comes in a box and cooks up quick and flavorful. But I’ve stopped buying it, since it isn’t organic. So I’ve been experimenting with making my own recipe. I made it with organic brown rice, but the kids complained. I finally got it right using white rice—though I still prefer making it with brown; though it takes longer. This goes really well with any sort of Middle Eastern food, which I love, love, love. Like lamb kabobs! Or tabbouleh and baba ganoush, which I still haven’t made on my own, but there is an amazing Middle Eastern store in our area called Soumaya, which also makes whole wheat pitas every day from scratch, so making those is not the top on my list at this point. But rice pilaf—now I can make it quick and easy from scratch, and so can you.
Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup rice
½ cup slivered almonds
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
Directions:
1. Warm the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, covered, with the heat on high.
2. Add the minced onion and garlic powder, and toast lightly in the olive oil and butter.
3. Add the rice, almonds, and salt, and stir up a bit to coat the rice with the spices.
4. Pour in the chicken broth and water and bring all to a boil.
5. Turn the heat down, cover the saucepan, and cook until done (about 20 minutes for white rice, about 50 for brown rice).
Hits the spot!
Ummmmm yum, lamb kababs! I love lamb! Try making Moroccan couscous to eat with your lamb kababs. It is totally easy and the raisins give it a touch sweetness and acts as a counter balance to the spices in and on the lamb. Better yet, try it with Morrocan chicken with preserved lemons!!! Delish. Thanks for the recipe Maria!
Oh, MARIA,
You have to make your own baba ghanoush just once, and if it comes out great, you won’t ever eat store bought again, unless you are pressed for time. It’s a little time consuming, but well worth it. Roasting the eggplant over the flame of your stove top is the most time consuming, unless you do it on a grill. Prepare it sometime soon, and then spread it on some crisp slices of a French baguette or Italian bread. Have some sauteed red and yellow peppers with it. Happy snacking!
Try cooking Lundberg Wild Rice Blend (looks like birdseed) with chicken broth, then add sauteed celery and onions, toasted pecans, and craisins. Delicious with chicken. Love Soumaya’s spinach pies as well as the whole wheat pitas.
Thanks for the recipe. I keep a few Seeds of Change organic rice/ grain blends in our pantry for nights we are rushed. Also, if you need brown rice in a pinch Trader joes sells organic brown rice pouches frozen that are precooked. You just warm up, and they are pretty good. Those are 2 handy “cheats” I like to keep around…
Great recipe!! So easy and yet delicious!! I will bathe in that stuff!!
Sounds great. Will make it soon, but sans the almonds. The boychild/man does not like nuts.