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Brown Rice Mushroom Pilaf

This Pilaf by Alice Phan of MeetandEats.com is a celebration of mushrooms and brown rice. When cooking brown rice, Alice offers three pieces of advice: wash, toast and rest. The toasting creates a deep nutty flavour and more complex taste. Try it; we’re sure you’ll love it.

Brown Rice Mushroom Pilaf




Yield
Makes 3 cups (750 mL)


Ingredients

  • 1 cup (250 mL) U.S. brown rice
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter or oil
  • ½ white onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 sausage (optional), diced
  • 75g (3oz) black oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 4 medium cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup (250 mL) chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup (250 mL) water
  •   Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Wash the brown rice, drain and set aside.
  2. Melt butter or oil in a pot. Add onions and cook until slightly translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
  3. Add sausages and cook thoroughly (optional). Then add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
  4. Pour washed rice into pot and stir in ingredients to toast for 5 minutes. The ‘toasting’ step can be skipped, but it is my preference as it unveils deep nutty flavour and a more complex taste.
  5. Add 1 cup (250 mL) of broth and 1 cup (250 mL) of water to pot at a 2:1 water to rice ratio. This ratio depends on your rice packet’s instructions, mine needed a 1/5 cup (47 mL) more water. Add salt and pepper to taste; stir.
  6. Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring for 5 minutes. Make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Switch heat to low, cover with lid and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.
  7. Once cooked, take the pot off the heat and cover with lid for 10-15 minutes to allow to rest. This step traps in the steam and ensures fluffier, thoroughly cooked rice.
  8. It is a must to taste the rice to see if it’s ready after 45 minutes, if it’s still hard, it will need more water and another 10 minutes to simmer with the lid on.

Notes

Recipe courtesy of Alice Phan, Meet and Eats

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