1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup long grain white rice
1/2 cup broken vermicelli or angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
salt
pepper
Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan that has a lid. Saute the pasta, rice, garlic and shallot until the pasta starts to brown. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
My thoughts:
For this recipe, I did something I normally don’t do; I made a homemade version of a food that has never been anything but a commercially made, shelf stable product. While the San Francisco treat can be oddly comforting and certainly quick to make, it is also on the salty and bland side. Making it at home is just as quick but much more flavorful.
Sounds awesome! Rice that has been browned in butter and cooked with stock is some seriously good sh*t. I can only imagine how tasty it would be with your additions.
What a great idea! I love the idea of making a delicious, far healthier version of commercial trash (although Rice-A-Roni does hit the spot from time to time!).
I remember hearing on NPR the story of how Rice-A-Roni came to be. It started with a woman who was an Eastern European immigrant in San Francisco and she sort of improvised on traditional rice pilaf. It was really interesting – you should see if the podcast is still available!
By the way – making this tonight as a side to roast chicken. 🙂
Thanks for the tip, Amanda! That sounds like a story I'd enjoy hearing.
My mom made this all the time when I was a kid. Haven't had it in yeaaaaars. Love this idea!
I'm constantly trying to recreate homemade versions of things like rice a roni or flavored rice packets. I get the same or more flavor and I know what's in it. Plus I can make it with brown rice and throw in some pre-cooked barley as well! Yum!
This looks great and is going into my meal plan for October. Any thoughts on how many servings it makes?
Yeah! We occasionally made the RAR for dinner because it was easy and the kids liked it. Then we found out that my husband has Celiac disease and can't eat wheat…guess what? No more RAR! Now I can make it without the wheat. Thank you very much 🙂
Yeah! We occasionally made the RAR for dinner because it was easy and the kids liked it. Then we found out that my husband has Celiac disease and can't eat wheat…guess what? No more RAR! Now I can make it without the wheat. Thank you very much 🙂