From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is an old family favorite that we love to serve with grilled or roast meat. It is our version of a commercial rice product that was quite popular years ago. Appetites are hardy in our family and it reached a point where the prepared mix cost nearly as much as the meat it was supposed to accompany. That didn't compute, so we came up with our own rice mix. Pilaf is one of those dishes that spans cultures and geographical regions. A more thorough examination of its rootless nature can be found here. This recipe is quite simple and if your family enjoys rice-based dishes I think they'll like this one. The cheese topping is optional but it is a very nice addition that you probably will want to try. The recipe can easily be doubled. Here's how it's made.
Orzo and Rice Pilaf with Pignoli and Parmesan Cheese...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup raw basmati rice
1/2 cup orzo
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup toasted pignoli (pine-nuts)
Optional: 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1) Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2) Add rice and orzo and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and salt. Heat to boiling. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes longer, or until broth is absorbed. Remove pan from heat. Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.
3) Add toasted pignoli and cheese (if using) to pilaf. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Rice and Red Lentil Pilaf: Kichiri - One Perfect Bite
Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad - One Perfect Bite
Shrimp Risotto - Coco Cooks
Spanish Rice - Taste Tempters
Mexican Rice - Chef in You
Paella Rice Salad - Eclectic Recipes
Radish Rice -Aayi's Recipes
Zesty Rice and Barley - Living the Gourmet
56 comments :
Your pilaf looks fabulous, Mary! I'm bookmarking this.
This sounds a very interesting recipe, I will give this one a try. Diane
Great looking pilaf, I'm definitely making note of this one. Fantastic side dish :o)
Mary, this is one of my favorite dishes in the whole world!! My mother-in-law has been making a similar dish for years...I actually thought she made up the recipe, as she is not a cookbook person and usually makes up her own recipes. I love it so much that she always calls it "Patti's rice." Now my kids call it "your rice." Can we have "your rice" for dinner? Of course, with pine nuts close to $20 a pound, we are very sparing with them.
What my MIL did to this dish that makes it different from yours, besides chicken bouillion cubes and water instead of actual chicken broth, was to add some shredded iceberg lettuce. Sounds strange, I know, but it is wonderful.
With this recipe, rice need never be boring again.
Blessings,
Patti
Pilafs are my go-to side dishes and I'm always looking for new ones!
Mary, we always laughed as children hearing "the San Francisco treat!"- to us rice and orzo are Italian staples! I do sometimes "toast" the rice a bit before adding the orzo and brth. This is a wonderful side dish!
xoxo Pattie
Your pilaf looks so good! Love the addition of pine nuts- thanks!
Copying this one, looks delicious and right up our alley! Thanks!
That sounds interesting with the orzo...I will have to give it a try:) Thanks for sharing!
The combination of rice and pignoli sounds delicious. Great recipe. Thamks and have a nice day
That's a great looking pilaf, Mary! It reminds me I need to try it again soon and this looks like the recipe to use! Have a good day!
I can see why this is an old family favorite! Looks so good!
I guess I never really thought that hard about Pilaf, I buy it in the box. Now I can make it myself!
This looks delicious. I am always looking for new pilaf recipes. I just wish pine nuts weren't so expensive. They seem to have doubled in price lately.
love the presentation on this one, too.
Looks wonderful and light, i am always on the lookout for new side dishes. Thanks!
This looks yummy, and is a version I have not seen. I make several different kinds of pilaf, some with vermicelli in it.
This sounds really tasty, Mary. It looks great, too.
This is, I believe, a perfect side dish. So much flavor and deliciousness in every bite.
Its amazing how much they can charge for those boxed mixes...when you can make something so much lovelier and cheaper at home! This sounds delicious, and I love anything that requires a sprinkle of parmesan cheese!
Delicious-looking pilaf!
I little spoon full of goodness.
Fabulous work ♥
Wonderful looking pilaf, simple, with the best ingredients. PIne nuts have become a little scarce around here, and quite pricey--I've got to watch and wait.
In the meantime, other nuts or seeds would make a tasty substitute.
A flavourful and delicious pilaf! A lovely click too :-)
Mary, this looks delicious! I love the addition of pignolis. I will definitely be bookmarking this one. Hope you're doing well!
This sounds very tasty Mary - as always.
Brown basmati rice is a grain I use quite often. Hence, your family favourite can maybe be accompanied by mine too ;o)
Ciao for now,
Claudia
This looks so delicious. I'll be happy with a big bowl/plate of this alone... Wait, I do want the roast meat as well. I am greedy.
Have a nice day Mary. Michael
In Switzerland the pine nuts would kill us, or at least empty our wallets. There's lots of them in your dish. Delicous, indeed. The recipe sounds like ris-orz-otto kind of, only that we add white wine first, and then the broth little by little, and we stir continiously until al dente, probably to get it creamy.
I love that you use basmati rice for your pilaf. The cheese and pine-nut topping sounds wonderful!
simply delicious meal.
I love rice in nearly any form, but the flavorful dishes are wonderful-pilaf chief among them. This sounds like a very tasty variation. Since my husband doesn't eat rice, I'll use this as a 'covered dish' for work and family. Thanks for the post-and I'm really looking forward to making this!
This dish looks very good, Mary! I love rice and cheese combined together :)!
I'm a rice lover, and this looks delish. Very nice :)
Orzo and rice? Interesting! Will give this a try. Looks delish.
Carmen
Mary I love this, look yummy,yummy! blessings Gloria
A simply gorgeous spoonful! And I too, realized that some of those mixes do not make sense...easier and certainly cost effective to come up with your own!
This looks like such a yummy and easy dish - I love pine nuts!
Nice recipe, would be really delicious...
Thank you. You inspired dinner tonight. It paired wonderfully with a seared tilapia and garden tomatoes.
Thank you for sharing a family favorite... which means that this has been tested over and over and it's family approved. I'll try to substitute our white rice with Pilaf sometime.
A great to accompany some good summer grilling--thanks for the recipe, Mary!
The title of the post, alone, is like a food poem!
I'll give this a try as it looks like a good basic pilaf to which I could add what I like (sort of like I do with that commercial mix!)
Delicious. That one mouthful is not enough for me!
A homemade pilaf is better than the boxed ones any day. My little kids would love this, with the cheese of course! I like how this dish is so versatile and can adapt to many ingredients on hand. xo
What a great pilaf! I bet toasting the rice for a couple minutes like that before adding the liquid gives it a delicious, nutty flavor! And the addition of pine nuts in there is perfect!
This is one of my favorite sides and I love the addition of pinenuts and cheese.
Isn't this cooler weather wonderful? I'm looking forward to a nice Oregon fall.
I love this combination Mary!!!
Just gorgeous - you can't go wrong ith pine nuts and Parmesan. I think this dish will be today's obsession.
Oooh no more plain white rice for me! This is fabulous, Mary. Delicious! Something like this adds zing to any grilled meat it's served with.
Haven't had a nice pilaf like this in quite a while. All the ingredients are things I love. Hmmm, I'd better get some of them.
Although this could make for the perfect accompaniment to just about anything in the world, I would happily enjoy a big bowl of it alone. Looks absolutely wonderful.
Love this idea!
I love the combination of rice, orzo and pine-nuts. I make something similar. It looks perfect!
Nice--It looks delicious and I am sure it is much healthier and better than the packaged mix. ;-)
I made this for a birthday party and it was a hit! I made a batch x 4 and it turned out perfectly!
Celia, I'm glad the recipe worked well for your purposes. I really like this recipe and hope more people will give it a try. Thanks for the feedback. Have a wonderful evening. Blessings...Mary
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