Creole Rice Pilaf

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Sauté the "Trinity": Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or a medium skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the diced onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened and the onions turn translucent.

Step 2

Wake Up the Aromatics: Stir in the minced garlic, tomato paste, dried thyme, and dried oregano. Stir constantly for about 1 minute until the tomato paste darkens slightly and the herbs become intensely fragrant.

Step 3

Toast the Rice: Add the rice directly into the pan with your seasoned vegetable base. Stir continuously for 2 minutes. You want every grain coated in the seasoned butter, toasting the rice until it smells nutty and the edges look slightly translucent.

Step 4

Pour in the chicken broth, salt, black pepper, and drop in the bay leaf. Give it one good stir to combine and scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the liquid up to a full rolling boil.

Step 5

Cover and Steam: As soon as it boils, immediately slap the tight-fitting lid on the pan and drop the burner heat down to your lowest setting. Let it cook completely undisturbed for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid to peek, or you will lose the steam required to fluff the grains.

Step 6

Rest and Fluff: After 15 minutes, pull the pan off the hot burner entirely, but leave the lid sealed shut. Let it rest on the counter in its own steam for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 7

Remove the lid, discard the bay leaf, and gently fluff the Creole pilaf with a fork. Fold in the sliced green onions right before serving.

Step 8

Spoon a generous bed of this savory, tomato-tinged rice onto the plate and slice your hot, butter-seared blackened chicken right across the top.