Mushroom and Sage Rice Pilaf is a quick and easy side dish that’s full of earthy flavors and wonderfully seasonal!
Before I get to the recipe, I just want to say I started the week out on a bit of a dodgy note and was lucky that this dish was made at all. When I was moving around in the kitchen getting prepped to make this dish I walked (quite spritely) into an open upper cabinet door, square on the bone above the temple (let the record state, it was not left open me). After the initial pain I continued with cooking and was able to get the dish finished, but little did I know what the following days would bring. Anyway, that’s another story and I’m OK now. On to the recipe…
Why is this called pilaf and not just rice? Rice is just… rice. But pilaf is rice cooked in a flavored liquid that can have added meat or vegetables to it’s a pretty versatile dish that will not only be perfect for fall but can also be a holiday side dish. Just flow with the seasons.
Call me the crazy sage lady because when fall arrives because I use this herb whenever I can. This rice pilaf was a side dish to complement a cornbread, apple & cranberry stuffed pork loin that I recently made (there’s that sage again) which made for a delicious and comforting Friday night meal and we enjoyed leftovers all weekend.
Whenever I cook rice, I like to toast it first preferably in butter, because it adds an extra nutty flavor to the rice. Another rice tip I have is cooking the rice in chicken stock. Why use water? Because the stock has so much flavor that gets absorbed by the rice.
This rice also makes for a delicious quick snack right of the fridge when you need to eat something quickly to take Tylenol, just sayin’…
Try some of my other favorite rice recipes!
- Roasted Garlic Cheesy Rice
- Easy Fried Rice
- Dirty Rice
- Syrian Rice
- Cauliflower Rice
- More side dish recipes…
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 16 ounces mushrooms sliced
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped or grated
- 1 tablespoons fresh sage chopped extra for garnish
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Small pinch ground black pepper
- 1 cup long grain rice
- ½ cup orzo pasta
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Instructions
- To a large saucepan add the oil butter over medium heat.
- Add the mushrooms and onions, cook until mushrooms brown and onions soften, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and sage, salt and pepper, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and orzo and cook stirring for 5 minutes.
- Add the stock and stir until everything is mixed well.
- Cover and bring to a simmer, cook for 15 minutes until the rice is tender.
- Serve the rice garnished with extra sage.
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