What Is Easy Rice Pilaf?
Ever imagined a side dish that is full of protein can be your regular dinner rotation and is lip-smacking tasty? The easy rice pilaf recipe is a fluffy, flavourful and delicious side dish all year long.
The flavors of the rice pilaf are wonderful and perfectly cooked, and it tastes amazing and is easy to make. You can pair this amazing dish with protein like Smoked Pork Butt, or you can even serve it with chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter frosting as dessert.
It is considered the best side for meals like braised beef or shrimp boil. The main idea of the recipe remains the same in all cases, and however, you can slightly make changes in the cooking method. In this article, we shall tell you how to prepare this amazing side dish without compromising your health.
What Is The Best Rice To Use?
The perfect rice for preparing rice pilaf is long grain rice, and people often opt for white long-grain rice such as jasmine and basmati. In addition to this, to make it more attractive, you can even mix colorful rice such as wild rice. It is recommended to keep things simple for high-quality taste.
How To Prepare Rice Pilaf?
It is easy to prepare rice pilaf, even for a newbie cook. Follow the basic ingredients and methods below to prepare your amazing rice pilaf side dish.
Ingredients
- Two tablespoons butter
- ½ cup orzo pasta
- ½ cup chopped onion
- Two cloves of minced garlic
- ½ cup long grain rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
Method
- Take a large skillet and melt butter.
- Add orzo pasta and cook it until it turns golden brown.
- Once you see that the pasta is golden brown, add onion and saute until it becomes translucent.
- After that, add garlic and cook it for about a minute until you start to get that aroma of minced garlic.
- Once you get the fragrance of garlic, add uncooked rice and coat it with oil.
- Add chicken broth, salt, and parsley and cook until it starts to boil over high heat.
- Once the dish starts to boil, cover the skillet with a lid and let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the ingredients become tender and the water is absorbed.
- Please remove it from heat and let it soothe for 5 minutes.
- After that, stir the dish in parmesan and fluff it with a fork.
- Add seasoning according to your taste and need.
Tadaa! Your amazing rice pilaf is ready to be served.
How To Prepare Rice Pilaf In Oven?
The recipe of the rice pilaf can also be prepared on the stovetop. But many people prefer to prepare the same in the oven. Let us check out how you can cook your protein-rich rice pilaf in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.
- From the method mentioned above of preparing rice pilaf, follow step 5 until you add aromatics to the skillet.
- Add liquid and transfer your preparations to an oven-safe cooking dish after covering it with a foil.
- Let it cook for 35 mins.
- Please remove it from the oven, fluff it with a fork and stir the dish in parmesan.
- Add seasoning according to your taste.
How To Serve Rice Pilaf?
You can serve this perfect side dish with the following:
- Lemon Butter Salmon and Asparagus Foil Packs.
- Skillet Honey Mustard Chicken.
- Healthy Lemon Skillet Chicken.
- Salmon with Creamy Lemon Sauce.
- Honey Dijon Chicken Cobb Salad.
The Bottom Line
The rice pilaf recipe is easy to make, and even a newbie cook can easily prepare it. The ingredients included in the recipe can be easily found in the local market. This side dish is rich in protein and does not let you compromise with your taste buds. For the people who want to make their recipe look attractive, they can add wild rice.
Rice pilaf can be served with multiple other dishes, and it can also be paired with chocolate cupcakes and served as dessert. This is a wonderful recipe that keeps both their taste buds and health on track for all diet-conscious people.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.How long does it take to prepare rice pilaf?
It takes nearly 20 to 25 minutes to prepare rice pilaf in a skillet and 35 to 40 minutes in the oven.
2. Why do we add garlic to the recipe?
Garlic works like aromatics to any recipe, and they add fragrance which enriches the dish and makes it more delicious.
3. What are the other ways of cooking rice pilaf?
Rice pilaf can be prepared in an oven, gas stove, and skillet.