Ben's Pilaf Recipe

from Ben:

(The pilaf I brought to the potluck is) pretty simple and variable. I use the old world pilaf mix in the bulk bins of People's Grocery. For each cup of the mix, I use another half-cup of lentils and/or peas - I prefer it a little heavier on legumes. On the veggie front, I just use whatever I have on hand. Onions, garlic, and fresh peppers are most common. Zucchini, celery, squashes, sweet potatoes, chard/kale, and more will find their way in, depending on mood and availability. The non-vegan dish on Saturday also had bison sausage.

Bring an appropriate amount of water to boil, add desired chopped vegetables, a tablespoon of oil/butter or so for each cup of mix, then season to taste.

I usually use some combination of salt, italian herb seasoning mix, a couple pinches each of ground cayenne pepper and cumin, maybe a tablespoon of hot chocolate mix on occasion. Getting the salt right is pretty important to me, but I like to experiment with variations in proportion of the others. The water can be a little on the salty side while the rices and beans are cooking, as rice/beans will absorb a good amount.

Then just boil until the rice/beans are cooked to your liking and the water has boiled off to a level you like. I find removing from heat while still a little watery is best, as the rice/beans will continue to absorb for a bit afterward, and cooling also thickens the liquid quite a bit.

Note on adding vegetables: some vegetables can use more time cooking than others. Celery, onion, peppers, and the like can go in immediately. I did a batch a couple weeks ago with sweet potatoes and butternut squash, where I cooked them diced separately in a covered pot with oil, then added to the pilaf in the final five minutes. I could have kept them separate for serving as well. The squash took a lot longer to cook than the potatoes, though, and the potatoes were falling apart too much by the time the squash was soft and cooked through. Next time, I'll cook the squash for 10 minutes first on its own and add the sweet potatoes later.

Note on flexibility: it's an extremely flexible dish. The wild rices and beans used in the mix are very resilient, and you don't have to worry about overcooking like you do with white rices. If I add too much water to begin with, I can just boil it longer to reduce. If I add to little, just add more if the water has boiled off and the rice/beans aren't done. It's a fun dish to experiment with different veggie ingredients, proportions of rices/beans/peas/other dried veggies as well as proportions of seasonings. It's a different dish every time I make it as far as these go.

Note on supplementing afterward: I like to add shredded/cubed cheddar or softer cheeses sometimes. I also like blue cheese or stilton crumbles.