Not only is this is classic and versatile side dish quick and easy to make. It’s also delicious and universally appreciated. Over the years I’ve made it for family and friends of many different social and ethnic backgrounds and I can say with certainty that everyone has enjoyed it. In fact, when I entertain I always make extra portions because people will generally look for seconds.
The traditional recipe uses butter and chicken stock but you can also make a wonderful vegan version by substituting oil for the butter and swapping in vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock.
Pilaf is nothing more than a method of cooking starches and although rice is the traditional base it works well for preparing other grains and legumes such as brown rice, bulgur, lentils or wheat berries. You only need to adjust the amount of liquid and the cooking time.
So learn the method with rice – something you and your family are probably already familiar with – then, after a few meals, leverage the Pizza Principal to expand your palate by substituting something you don’t normally eat – say by serving Quinoa Pilaf!
As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts in the “Comments” section below. We would love to know what you think!
Rice Pilaf
Ingredients
- 1 Cup White Rice
- 2 Cups Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
- ¼ Cup Diced Onion
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- ⅛ Tsp Salt
- ⅛ Tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Each Bay Leaf
Instructions
- Saute diced onion in butter until it is translucent.
- Add rice to butter and onion and continue to saute. Goal is to coat each grain of rice with butter. This will prevent the cooked rice sticking together.
- Stir in the salt and pepper. Note that if you are using canned or boxed stock reduce the amount of salt as the stock may be quite salty right out of the container.
- Stir in bay leaf.
- Add the stock and bring it to a boil then taste the liquid. The taste of this liquid will be very close to the taste of the finished rice so adjust salt and pepper.
- Cover and return to very gentle simmer for 15-18 minutes.
- After 15 minutes check for doneness. Cook longer and/or adjust amount of liquid as needed.
- When done to your liking fluff the rice with a fork and serve.