Mushroom Rice Pilaf

We are a rice loving family but plain rice gets really boring after awhile. To switch things up, I often make variations of rice side dishes such as risotto, fried rice and my favorite, rice pilaf. My current favorite rice dish is this Mushroom Rice Pilaf which I made to accompany our Horseradish Crusted Ribeye Steaks for our recent anniversary dinner.

This was an excellent recipe and it made some good use of cremini mushrooms I had on hand. The addition of bay leaf and rosemary lent some nice aromatics and flavor… and since we love garlic, I added some minced garlic as well. The key to this recipe is making sure you saute the mushrooms until they are really caramelized so they have an extra depth of flavor to bring to the overall dish.

Mushroom Rice Pilaf
recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely minced
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups long grain rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1-2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Melt the butter and olive oil in a hot skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with the salt and pepper; cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until caramelized.

Add the rice and stir until coated with the butter and olive oil. Increase the heat to medium-high. Let the rice cook until toasted, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes more.

Stir in the broth, bay leaf, and rosemary. Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover, and cook until all the broth has been absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender, Stir in the parsley and fluff the rice with a fork and serve.