Garlic Rice Pilaf

I love sides that can go with almost any entree. Such is the case with this garlic rice pilaf. It’s so simple to make and can probably be made with ingredients you already have on hand. I’ll confess that, about four years ago, the only rice I made was of the instant/minute variety. It seems silly now, but back then I never really considered making any other type. Now, Eric and I have three types of rice in our pantry (Arborio, long-grain and brown, in case you were wondering). This recipe requires about as much work (read: almost none) as minute rice, just with a longer cooking time. The good thing about the cooking time is that you can focus on the main dish while the rice cooks. Since we were serving this with scallops, which only cook for a few minutes, we were able to relax while this was cooking away in the oven.

The rice is toasted before baking, which adds a lovely, nutty flavor to it. I added an extra clove of garlic just because Eric and I love garlic, and the flavor wasn’t overpowering at all. In fact, the garlic adds more of a background flavor – you know it’s there, but it doesn’t have that strong garlic punch. The texture of the rice was perfect, and I will be finding other rice recipes to cook using this method. I may have even eaten a few forkfuls right out of the casserole dish while the scallops were finishing. It’s just that good.