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Meaty with a dash of veggies

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Mushrooms Rice & grains Lunch / Dinner One Bowl Meals Side Dishes

Mushroom pilaf

Published: 09.12.2021 » Last updated: 08.10.2023

A meatless one-bowl meal, this mushroom pilaf can also be served as a side dish to meat or seafood. Fast, easy and tasty. Enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Mushroom pilaf served with lime wedges

What is pilaf? It’s rice cooked in broth. It’s found in cuisines in many parts of the world including South Asia, Central Asia, the Caribbean, Western and Eastern Europe. Pilaf (pilau and pelau are some of the spelling variations) can be cooked with or without meat.

How does pilaf differ from risotto? Pilaf isn’t stirred during cooking which results in a fluffier rice dish. Pilaf is also more often cooked with long-grain rather than with stickier short-grain rice.

Is pilaf a difficult dish to cook? Oh, no! Just saute your flavor base, add the unrinsed rice, season, pour in the broth, cover the pan and let the rice absorb the liquid. Here, let me show you.

Sauteeing mushrooms and onion slices in butter

In this recipe, the flavor base consists of butter, mushrooms and onion slices. They are sauteed together to squeeze out the flavors.

Seasoning mushrooms before adding rice

It’s important to season the dish in increments. Salt and pepper are sprinkled over the sauteed mushrooms and onion slices before the rice is added.

Pouring broth into pan with rice and mushrooms

The rice is tossed with the mushrooms and onion until every grain is glistening with butter. Then, the broth is poured in.

Mushroom pilaf in pan

The rice, mushrooms and onion slices are simmered in the broth until all the liquid has been soaked up. And that’s it! No stirring during simmering. All you need to do once the rice is cooked through is to fluff up the grains with a fork to make the pilaf really fluffy.

Mushroom Pilaf

Connie Veneracion
Fresh shiitake, oyster mushrooms and shimeji were used in this recipe. Feel free to use some other mushroom combination or even just one kind of mushroom. It's the sauteeing prior to adding the rice that really gives this dish a lovely mushroom-y flavor and aroma.
Mushroom pilaf garnished with torn cilantro
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian, Caribbean, European
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 ½ cups mixed fresh mushromms cut or torn into smaller pieces if large
  • 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ½ cup Basmati rice unrinsed
  • 1 ¼ cups broth (chicken broth was used here but vegetable broth should be great too)
  • lime wedges to serve
  • cilantro to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a pan and add the mushrooms. Cook stirring until a bit softened.
  • Add the onion slices and continue sauteeing until the onion slices start to turn translucent.
  • Sprinkle in half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper.
  • Add the rice.
  • Stir until every grain of rice is coated with butter.
  • Pour in the broth.
  • Depending on how well seasoned the broth is, you may need to add more salt and pepper at this point.
  • Cover the pan, set the heat to low and cook (there is no need to stir) until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
  • Fluff up the pilaf with a fork.
  • Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
  • Ladle the mushroom pilaf into bowls and squeeze in a little lime or lemon juice.
  • Sprinkle cilantro over the mushroom pilaf and serve with lemon or lime wedges on the side.

Connie Veneracion

Lawyer by education. Journalist by accident. Home cook and writer by passion. Photographer by necessity. Good food, coffee and wine lover forever. Read more about me and Umami Days. Find me on Flipboard, Substack and Pinterest.

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