Easy Rice Pilaf

Looking for a rice dish that is easy and is different than plain ‘ole rice and potatoes? This rice dish’s origins can be credited to my mother, but it has morph’ed into the preparation that you see below which I must thank my wife Aileen for (due to her dislike of uncooked onions).

I think the key to this dish is the layering of flavors by the caramelization of onions and garlic and sauteeing of the raw rice prior to the addition of the liquid.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 Cups Boiling Water

• 2 Rounded Tablespoons Chicken Consomme Base (I use Osem Chicken Consomme - Vegans - you will love this - this Chicken Consomme does not actually contain chicken)

• 1/4 Cup Canola Oil (I have been know to substitute Extra Virgin Olive Oil as well)

• 1 Medium Yellow Onion - finely diced

• Salt and Pepper

• 2 - 3 Cloves of Garlic - minced or run through a garlic press

• 1/2 Cup of Water (more of less)

• 1 1/2 Cups Rice - I like to mix 50% White Jasmine / 50% Whole Grain Brown Rice

• 8 oz Diced Mushrooms (Optional)

Directions

1. Boil water. Measure 1 1/2 cups of boiling water and dissolve the chicken consomme in the water. The prepared consomme will be used with the rice later on in the recipe.

2. In a large high walled skillet or saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. When oil has come up to temperature (shimmering), add Onion and Garlic to the pan and sweat them - add a little salt to help sweat - you can also add a little pepper to season them.

3. Continue to saute onions so they caramelize. Here’s where some of the flavor building starts - I add water 2 - 3 tablespoons at a time to the sauteing onions. This helps to deglaze the onion’s sugars from the pan and build flavor. Continue to do this until the onions reach a nice brown flavorful color and are completely cooked.

4. Add a little more water and add the garlic to cook. Cook the onion and garlic together briefly until the water is basically cooked out of the pan.

5. Add the rice all at once to the saute pan and toast the rice with the onion and garlic (if you want, you can add a little more oil, but not too much if you do (and definitely not required). Continue to toast the rice until it is nicely golden brown - don’t burn it, but this toasting is where you are really building flavor!

6. Add the consomme you prepared earlier (watch out the pans really gonna sizzle when you add the water) - this is where the rice is going to audibly tell you about all the flavor you’ve been working on. Give the rice a quick stir to mix it in with the consomme.

7. Immediately turn down the heat to a very low simmer and place a lid on the pan - Set your timer for 20 minutes and leave the rice covered. Check the rice after the 17 - 18 minutes have elapsed to make sure all the water has not cooked from the pan and the rice is nearly full cooked. At this point, you can go ahead and give the rice another stir.

8. After the timer has gone off, remove the rice from the stove and enjoy!

I recommend serving this rice with my Boneless Chicken Breasts stuffed with Mushrooms recipe.

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

The I.T. Gourmet

Fresh Marinara Sauce (It doesn’t get much easier!!!)

V, V, GF

There’s nothing better during the Summer than fresh tomatoes - in fact, tomatoes the rest of the year can be rather disappointing and tasteless. This year, my wife and I tried our hands at growing tomatoes on the back deck in containers. While we didn’t have the best of harvests, what we were able to bring in to the table, were very tasty indeed albeit small - I’m sure that copious amounts of summer rainwater didn’t help out our tomato production.

Ingredients

• 8 - 10 Medium to Large Tomatoes (I used a variety of ripe varieties - Beefsteak, San Marzano, and Rutgers) - the riper the tomatoes the better for this recipe!!!

• 1 Small Onion Diced

• 3 - 4 Cloves of Garlic Thinly Sliced

• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano

• 1 Small Can Tomato Paste (any variety will do - but I like Cento Brand)

• 1/2 Cup Wine (I make this with whatever wine I have on hand - Red, White, or Dry Rose)

• Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

• 8 Good Sized Fresh Basil Leaves (torn into small pieces - NOTE: Don’t pick / add them to the sauce until it is almost done cooking and ready to serve)

Directions

1. Start this recipe out with your mise en place (except for the Basil as my comment points out).

2. I like to take the tomatoes and core them and give them a coarse chop. I then pop them in the blender to puree them. Take notice that I didn’t peel them and I didn’t remove the seeds - sorry purists - but I’m trying to make it easy). I like to reserve one or two of the tomatoes to add into the sauce a little later because I like my sauce a little chunky.

3. Add olive oil in a saucepan and bring it up to temperature (but not too hot). Sweat your onions over medium high flame. I like to add salt to the onions to help them sweat. When almost translucent, I add the garlic to the party. Give it a stir and continue to let them sweat but don’t overcook them and let them brown.

4. Add your pureed / blended tomatoes to the pan and mix them in with the onions and garlic. Add the Oregano, Tomato Paste, and wine and give it a stir until the Tomato Paste is thoroughly mixed with the sauce. Turn the saucepan down to a simmer and let the marinara cook down for about 20 - 30 mins.

5. At this point in time, you can go ahead and salt and pepper the sauce to taste. It’s also at this point where I like to add the reserved coarsely chopped tomatoes to the simmering sauce.

6. Continue to simmer the sauce down to cook it down to your desired thickness. Make sure you give it a peak and stir it every so often to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

7. When you’re almost ready to serve the sauce take your fresh Basil leaves and shred them with your hands into small pieces and drop them into the sauce and stir. By the way, this is a very versatile sauce and can be used by itself with pasta (see the picture above) or it can be used as a base for many other italian recipes.

Enjoy and Bon AppetIT!!!

TheITGourmet

It’s Ratatouille Time!!!

V, V, GF, DF

Okay, Jonathan prove it - you said your Marinara Sauce was versatile - now prove it to us!!!

Ratatouille is one of those recipes that screams Summer and it’s a perfect recipe to use with some of the leftover marinara sauce. So... That’s exactly what we did tonight for with dinner tonight.

Ingredients

• 1/8” - 1/4” Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1/2 to 1 Small Yellow Onion - diced into 1/4” pieces

• 2 - 3 Cloves of Garlic - minced or run through a garlic press

• 1 Eggplant - peeled, sliced into rounds, and cubed into 1/2” pieces

• 1 Small Zucchini - sliced into rounds and cubed into 1/2” pieces

• 1 Small Yellow Summer Squash - sliced into rounds and cubed into 1/2” pieces

• 1/2 to 1 Red Bell Pepper - cut into 1/2” bite-sized pieces

• 8 oz Diced Mushrooms (Optional)

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Marinara Sauce (see TheITGourmet Fresh Marinara Recipe)

• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat Olive Oil over medium heat. When oil has come up to temperature, add Onion and Garlic to the pan and sweat them. When onions have started to become translucent (but not browned), add the remaining vegetables and saute.

2. After about 10 - 15 minutes add Marinara Sauce and turn heat down to a low simmer. After about 20 - 30 minutes taste the dish and season to desired taste with Salt and Pepper.

3. Continue to simmer the dish until you have your desired doneness of the vegetables.

As Always - Best Regards and Bon AppetIT,

TheITGourmet!!!