Greek Rice Pilaf

Submitted by Olha7397

"Use Arborio rice or other short grain rice. This rice absorbs flavorful stocks and juices."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup white rice, preferably Arborio or 1 cup other short-grain rice
• 1⁄2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 1⁄4 cups water, and
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste, heaping
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated (optional)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium size skillet over medium high heat. Add the rice and onion and sauté until both are translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the water with 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Simmer until the rice is just done, 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the nutmeg, if using. Sprinkle with the parsley, if desired. Fluff with a fork and serve.
3. NOTES: Not caring much for the flavor of plain water, a Greek cook who does not have stock on hand will usually flavor the water with tomato paste: about 1 tablespoon tomato paste to 1 cup water. This can be used for bulgur pilaf as well.
4. As with bulgur pilaf, the quantity can easily be doubled, tripled, or more: Use 1 1/4 times as much liquid as rice. Be sure to increase the amount of olive oil and onion as you increase the rice and liquid.
5. Adventures In Greek Cooking.

Reviews

[angellore]

I made this to accompany greek chicken kebabs, although I used more water as it dried out very quickly, and also added a chicken stock cube. My husband said it tasted like the rice we had in the mountains in Cyprus, so I am over the moon with this and will definitely be making it again. Highly recommended.

 

[Alexa]

This was just missing something. Definitely add more water than suggested. Dried out very quick and rice was still a little hard. Will continue to make some tweaks with this recipe.