The City Pilaf (Vermicelli Rice Pilaf)

I really debated on whether or not to release this recipe on The Kitchen Counter. Not because

I didn’t wish to share it, I did. I just started to get unsure about whether or not it was “newsletter worthy”. But then I thought, not everything needs to be a complicated, multi component show stopper to make an impact and be worthy of sharing with my subscribers.

And this pilaf is just that. A simple yet delicious dish that everyone loves, that you will be happy to have in your back pocket for a night when you want to serve something just a little more special than plain white rice, and no one will be the wiser on how easy it was for you to throw together.

You see, we do a lot of rice in our house. A lot. It’s my husband and my kids first choice for a side, pretty much regardless of what we are having. If I make a pot roast, they don’t want mashed potatoes (like I would), they want rice. Short ribs and gravy? Rice.

I’m pretty convinced they only tolerate the mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and would prefer to eat their turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce with a scoop of white rice.

I’m not complaining, I love plain white rice as much as the next picky 3 year old that won’t eat anything else. But sometimes I just want something a little more, well…..exciting.

Like, oh I don’t know….. Rice-a-Roni. The only problem is, I don’t love the idea of feeding my family Rice-a-Roni on the regular with the Franken-list of ingredients, so coming up with a much cleaner, healthier and more delicious version was a no-brainer for me.

Sautéing a shallot and toasting angel hair pasta (or vermicelli) in butter before adding the rice infuses every grain with rich, nutty flavor. Adding a hefty amount of bouillon powder gives it the savory flavor we all love in Rice-a Roni. As it all simmers together, the flavors meld into a rice pilaf that’s anything but ordinary - move over white rice.

No one might admit it, but if they were served something that reminded them of Rice-a-Roni at a dinner party, they would probably be giddy. This is a grown up version that kids and adults alike can’t get enough of.

And since this is the Bay Area after all, I couldn’t just call it my version of “the San Francisco treat”, so I affectionally named it “The City” Pilaf - as no one I know around here would ever call it “San Francisco”.

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Some Notes On The Recipe:

-This recipe tends to be a hit with kids an adults alike, so although the recipe says it serves 4-6, err on the side of 4 if you know you have big eaters or lots of kids, they just tend to love this stuff.

-If all you have is chicken bouillon cubes instead of powder, make sure to fully dissolve in some of the water before adding to the rice. Just microwave a few tablespoons of the water until very hot and add the cubes. After a few minutes you can smash and incorporate with a fork.

-You can substitute about 1/4 of a yellow onion diced very finely for the shallot

-I highly encourage you to use the bouillon powder, but if you don’t want to, substitute with 2 more tsp kosher salt for a total of 3 tsp for the entire recipe. (add the extra 2 tsp kosher salt along with the liquid in the recipe).