“Eat More Vegetables” Rice Pilaf Recipe: So Good You Don’t Know It’s Good for You!

Rice is such a great side dish for meat or fish but can bring unwanted calories and carbohydrates. But not if you cram lots of colorful vegetables into it! Here’s an easy, healthy pilaf recipe that amps up the veggie-to-rice ratio and hits a home run in the flavor competition. The recipe is below, but don’t despair if you don’t have the exact vegetables on hand. Just sub in some others in the same amounts; see the notes for variations.

“Eat More Vegetables” Rice Pilaf

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 2+ tbsp butter
• ½ cup of carrots, cut longways and then sliced (about 1 medium carrot or ½ large)
• ½ cup of diced bell pepper, preferably yellow or red
• ½ cup of red onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes, preferably colorful grape tomatoes
• 1½ cups jasmine rice (see note)
• 1 cup cooked peas (fresh, frozen or canned), drained
• 1 packed cup fresh spinach, or ½ cup frozen after thawing, drained
• 2 tbsp. fresh oregano, or 2 tsp. dried
• 1½ cups liquid: vegetable stock or chicken stock, wine, water
• 1½ tbsp Zippy Sicilian or your other favorite Italian seasoning (add ½ tsp. salt if your seasoning does not include salt)
• ½ cup chopped and toasted nuts, or ½ cup chopped or slivered nuts, or ½ cup roasted nuts (see note)
• Optional garnishes: sliced green onions and/or chopped parsley or more oregano

Cooking Instructions

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the carrots and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, red onion, garlic and tomatoes and sautee for another 2-3 minutes, then add the rice. Continue to sauté for 4-5 minutes, toasting the rice but being careful not to burn it, and adding up to 1 tbsp more butter if your mixture is dry. (Note: if you aren’t using already-toasted or roasted nuts, add the nuts along with the rice.)

Stir in the peas, spinach and oregano, then add the liquid and seasonings, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes, not removing the cover during the cooking time. Remove the lid after 20 minutes, test for doneness and taste for seasoning, then stir in the toasted nuts. Remove from heat and replace the lid. The rice will stay warm for at least 20 minutes, covered.

Notes

• Rice. I like jasmine rice for this recipe, but basmati or regular white rice work just fine, too. Just be sure to use the rice-to-liquid amounts on the package. There’s no need to rinse jasmine rice, by the way.
• Liquids. If you’ve made any recipes from Glover Gardens that call for cooking liquid, you know that I strongly prefer stock to water as a cooking liquid, and often make up some of the cooking liquid with wine. It’s just such a wonderful opportunity to add a little more depth of flavor. Keep bouillon cubes on hand and you’ll always have a flavorful liquid.
• Veggies. No carrots? No problem? No tomatoes? Same! Lots of other vegetables work in this versatile approach to rice. Think zucchini or other squash, broccoli, green beans or asparagus (already cooked), corn, kale or mushrooms. Just stick to about ½ cup of each vegetable (up to 1 cup for corn), and be sure to add a little more liquid if you use fresh mushrooms, because they are sponges.
• Nuts. We use toasted nuts in our cooking so often that I’ve started toasting a bigger batch than I need when making a recipe to have some on hand for the next time. Classic pilaf toasts the nuts along with the rice, which is fine. Sliced almonds are really good when done this way. But if you have already-toasted nuts on hand, there’s no need to add them to the rice mixture before it cooks, because they’ll get soft. A snack nut mixture is also fine to use in this recipe, if you chop them.
• Protein Add-Ins. You can add leftover cooked meat or fish of any kind to this dish, or tofu, but it doesn’t really need it. It is designed to be a nice veggie-laden side dish, a supporting actor alongside a main dish. We especially like it with fish, as shown below in a recipe I will soon post.

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