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Pecan Rice

5.0

(2)

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans.

This dish is a rice pilaf, where the rice is toasted in oil with onion before liquid is added to finish the cooking. The addition of chopped pecans adds an additional nuttiness to the toasted rice. Pilafs are usually made with a meat-based stock like chicken; if you want a vegetarian version, you can easily substitute vegetable stock or water. We like to serve this alongside our turkey at Thanksgiving.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup long-grain rice
2 tablespoons finely diced shallots
1 tablespoon finely diced carrot
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat for 1 minute. Add the pecans and toast, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the nuts are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and toast for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the shallots, carrot, salt, and pepper.

    Step 2

    Cook the rice and the vegetables for an additional 3 minutes. Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.

    Step 3

    Stir in the green onions before serving.

Reprinted with permission from Southern Comfort: A New Take on the Recipes We Grew Up With by Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing, © 2012. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing burst onto the culinary scene in 2003 as chefs of Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar, which the New York Times called "one of the most distinctive new restaurants to come along in years" and earned Allison the 2004 James Beard Rising Star award. In 2005, the couple returned to Louisiana to open Longbranch followed by MiLa in New Orleans in 2007.
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