Brown Rice Pilaf with Dried Apricots, Olives, Almonds, and Cilantro
By Amanda LuchtelPublished on March 3, 2025
Time
1¾ hours
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If you wish, substitute olive oil for the butter and/or vegetable broth for the chicken broth. We developed this recipe using Lundberg Organic Long Grain Brown Rice, our winning brand of long-grain brown rice. We prefer to use an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven to make this rice; you can use a Dutch oven made from another material, such as stainless steel, but the rice may not cook as evenly.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until about half of grains begin to brown on edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in broth, water, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and salt and bring to boil. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and bake until liquid is fully absorbed and rice is tender, about 1 hour.
- Remove pot from oven and carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you. Sprinkle apricots and olives over rice, re-cover pot, and let sit for 10 minutes. Sprinkle almonds and cilantro over rice mixture, then fluff mixture with fork until evenly combined; discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Time
1¾ hoursYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Oven-baking brown rice guarantees the most even and appealing texture. In a Dutch oven, we sautéed an onion; toasted the brown rice; stirred in broth, bay leaves, and sprigs of thyme; and baked it all, covered, for about an hour. When the rice was tender, we removed it from the oven; sprinkled chopped apricots and olives over the top; covered the pot again; and let it sit for 10 minutes, just enough time for the apricots to become plump and tender. After a quick fluff with a fork to incorporate a sprinkling of almonds and cilantro, our pilaf was good to go.
Before You Begin
If you wish, substitute olive oil for the butter and/or vegetable broth for the chicken broth. We developed this recipe using Lundberg Organic Long Grain Brown Rice, our winning brand of long-grain brown rice. We prefer to use an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven to make this rice; you can use a Dutch oven made from another material, such as stainless steel, but the rice may not cook as evenly.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until about half of grains begin to brown on edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in broth, water, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and salt and bring to boil. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and bake until liquid is fully absorbed and rice is tender, about 1 hour.
- Remove pot from oven and carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you. Sprinkle apricots and olives over rice, re-cover pot, and let sit for 10 minutes. Sprinkle almonds and cilantro over rice mixture, then fluff mixture with fork until evenly combined; discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
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