Cookbook:Rice Pilaf

| Rice

Rice pilaf can be served as a side-dish or main dish.

Ingredients

 * 6 tbsp butter or margarine
 * ½ cup uncooked orzo pasta or uncooked vermicelli pasta broken into small pieces
 * 2 cups uncooked long grain rice
 * 4 cups boiling-hot chicken broth
 * ¼ tsp salt
 * 4 cloves of garlic
 * 1 big onion, finely chopped
 * 2 carrots, diced small

Procedure

 * 1) Melt butter or margarine in heavy deep pan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
 * 2) Add vegetables and let them be lightly cooked without coloring; using the vegetables would mean you omit the orzo pasta.
 * 3) Add orzo pasta (or small broken pieces of vermicelli pasta) and cook, stirring constantly until pasta is golden brown.
 * 4) Add rice and stir until rice is well coated with butter. Allow rice to simmer in butter for a minute or two.
 * 5) Add boiling chicken broth and salt.
 * 6) Lower heat to a simmer, cover pan and cook 25 minutes over low heat until liquid is absorbed.
 * 7) Gently fluff with a fork. Let stand for 15–20 minutes before serving.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Substitute an equal amount of vegetable broth for the chicken broth to create a vegetarian version of this recipe.
 * Substitute orzo with pine nuts if desired; this is traditionally done in Lebanon.