Rice Pilaf with Lemony Brown Butter Mushrooms
A sit-up-and-take-notice side serving to complement any baked or grilled main dish. Browning the pasta and rice adds another dimension of flavour, further boosted by cooking them together with thyme and bay leaves. Spoon mushrooms sauteed in butter and lemon on top. and you'll have a dish to remember. This recipe is adapted (mostly simplified) from Bon Appetit, and when you take that first bite, that's what you'll say: "Bon Appetit."
Serves: 4-6
Time: 65 minutes
Ingredients
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup angel hair pasta, broken into ½" pieces
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups basmati or long grain rice
2 sprigs thyme
2 dried bay leaves
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. mushrooms of your choice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more
Zest and juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon, according to your taste
1/2 cup chopped mixed tender herbs (such as parsley, dill, and/or tarragon)
Method
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Toast the broken pasta, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Reserve the skillet.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Cook the shallots, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 8–10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn golden, about 1 minute.
Add the rice, stirring to coat in the shallot mixture, and cook until the edges of the grains turn translucent but the centres are still opaque, 2–3 minutes (cooking off some of the starches and coating the rice in fat will help the grains stay separate when they cook in the broth).
Add the pasta, thyme, bay leaves, broth, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the rice is cooked through and the liquid is absorbed, 20–25 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let sit (still covered) 20 minutes. Do not uncover the rice before resting—you want to keep all the steam in there.
While the rice and pasta are cooking, cut or tear the mushrooms into large bite-size pieces.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in the reserved skillet over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Arrange half of the mushrooms in a single layer in pan and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, toss, and continue to cook, tossing often and reducing the heat as needed to prevent scorching, until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of oil and more salt and pepper.
Cook the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in same skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it foams, then just starts to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook again, tossing often and spooning the butter over, until the butter smells nutty (it should have deepened in colour even more), about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and half of the herbs, according to your taste. Taste and season with more lemon, zest, salt and pepper if needed.
To serve, uncover the rice pilaf and fluff with a fork. Transfer to a platter or large shallow bowl. Spoon the mushrooms over and drizzle with any sauce remaining in the skillet. Top with the remaining herbs and season with more pepper, if desired.
A sit-up-and-take-notice side serving to complement any baked or grilled main dish. Browning the pasta and rice adds another dimension of flavour, further boosted by cooking them together with thyme and bay leaves. Spoon mushrooms sauteed in butter and lemon on top. and you'll have a dish to remember. This recipe is adapted (mostly simplified) from Bon Appetit, and when you take that first bite, that's what you'll say: "Bon Appetit."
Serves: 4-6
Time: 65 minutes
Ingredients
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup angel hair pasta, broken into ½" pieces
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups basmati or long grain rice
2 sprigs thyme
2 dried bay leaves
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. mushrooms of your choice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more
Zest and juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon, according to your taste
1/2 cup chopped mixed tender herbs (such as parsley, dill, and/or tarragon)
Method
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Toast the broken pasta, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Reserve the skillet.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Cook the shallots, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 8–10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn golden, about 1 minute.
Add the rice, stirring to coat in the shallot mixture, and cook until the edges of the grains turn translucent but the centres are still opaque, 2–3 minutes (cooking off some of the starches and coating the rice in fat will help the grains stay separate when they cook in the broth).
Add the pasta, thyme, bay leaves, broth, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the rice is cooked through and the liquid is absorbed, 20–25 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let sit (still covered) 20 minutes. Do not uncover the rice before resting—you want to keep all the steam in there.
While the rice and pasta are cooking, cut or tear the mushrooms into large bite-size pieces.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in the reserved skillet over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Arrange half of the mushrooms in a single layer in pan and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, toss, and continue to cook, tossing often and reducing the heat as needed to prevent scorching, until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of oil and more salt and pepper.
Cook the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in same skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it foams, then just starts to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook again, tossing often and spooning the butter over, until the butter smells nutty (it should have deepened in colour even more), about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and half of the herbs, according to your taste. Taste and season with more lemon, zest, salt and pepper if needed.
To serve, uncover the rice pilaf and fluff with a fork. Transfer to a platter or large shallow bowl. Spoon the mushrooms over and drizzle with any sauce remaining in the skillet. Top with the remaining herbs and season with more pepper, if desired.