Pecan Rice Pilaf

Several posts ago, I made a rice pilaf that was generally good, but was somewhat lacking in flavor. Because of this, I've been hoping for an opportunity to try the recipe again with some modifications. When I was invited to a potluck recently, and heard that most of the dishes were "main course" options, I jumped at the opportunity. Because a friend recently gave me a bag of fresh pecan's from her tree, I decided to incorporate those as well.

I liked the method that I used previously (adapted from Good Eats), so I used the same approach. As you can see below, I added the pecans after the dish was done cooking. However, I wanted the flavor of the pecans to be more prominent than that, so I tried something new. I steeped some ground pecans in the broth for about an hour before I started cooking with the hope that the broth would take on the flavor.

Delicious!

Because the potluck was relatively small, I had plenty of leftovers. One time, I tossed in some dried cranberries after reheating the pilaf in the microwave, and though the flavor worked well with the dish.



Pecan Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
1/2 c carrot, minced
1/2 c mushrooms, minced
garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper, to taste, plus a dash of nutmeg
2 cups long grain rice
3 1/3 c chicken broth (I only used 3 c, and that did not seem to be enough)
1 bay leaf
1/2 c pecans, roasted and minced, plus 1/4 c finely ground

Directions:

• Mix broth with ground pecans and let sit on counter for 1 hour
  
• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a heavy, wide, lidded pan, melt butter over medium-low heat
• Add garlic, onion, carrot, mushrooms, and salt, sweat until aromatic, stirring constantly
• Add olive oil
  
• Add rice and stir to coat and rice begins to smell nutty
• Add chicken broth, pepper, and nutmeg, and bay leaf & bring to boil
• Cover pan with moistened dish towel (or tea towel). Place lid on pan and fold towel corners over lid
• Bake for 15 minutes
• Rest at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes without removing the cover.
• Remove lid from rice and turn out onto a platter
• Fluff with a large fork and add roasted pecans (I roasted the pecans for ~ 10-minutes while the pilaf was cooking in the oven)