Forbidden Rice Pilaf

Some things just don’t photograph well, and I’ve come to accept it. Usually it’s the most delicious things that refuse to look good in pictures. In this case, the chicken was the afterthought to this forbidden rice full with veggies and some extra andouille sausage I laying around. It’s satisfying by itself and even better with a huge spoon of yogurt on top. Have it for lunch, dinner, as the main or side dish, warm or room temp. It’ll be tasty, with the added benefit that forbidden rice is apparently very healthy as well. In the picture, I had it with some chipotle-marinated chicken I cooked with a sous vide and then broiled. The rice was still the star of the show. Need I say more?

• 2 links andouille sausage, or more if you’d like, cut into bite-sized pieces (you can also use Spanish chorizo, Portuguese sausage, kielbasa, or any sausage of your choice)

• 1 shallot, chopped finely

• 1 big carrot, small diced

• 2 stalks celery, small diced

• dried oregano, to taste (~1 tsp)

• ground cumin, to taste (~1 tsp)

• 1.5 cups rice

• 3 cups water or stock

• ~10 dried mushrooms (I used porcini)

• 1 bunch cilantro

• 1-2 Serrano peppers, seeded or unseeded depending on your spice preferences

• 4 green onions

• lime juice, to taste

• salt and pepper, to taste

• plain yogurt

1. Start the sausage in a cold pan and cook over medium heat until crispy and the fat is rendered out. Feel free to add some oil of your choice to get it going, but the sausage will render quite a bit of fat by itself. Add the shallot, carrot, and celery and continue cooking until softened. The moisture from the veggies should be cooked out.

2. Add the oregano and cumin and cook 30 seconds - 1 minute until fragrant. Add the rice and allow it to toast for a minute or two, stirring and coating in the fat from the sausage.

3. Add the water or stock and bring everything to a boil. While the liquid is heating up, add the dry mushrooms and taste it for seasoning. It’s important that the liquid is properly salted to make sure that the rice is seasoned from the inside out.

4. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 20-30 minutes. Add the lime juice, cilantro, serrano, and green onions. Taste for seasoning again, add a big scoop of yogurt, and dig in.