Brown Rice Pilaf with Two Mushrooms

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Time: About 1 hour, mostly unattended

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You can substitute brown rice for white in any pilaf, simply by using parcooked brown rice (see the sidebar on page 368). But cooking raw brown rice in oil alone gives it incredible flavor and decreases the overall cooking time without making the onion mushy. With this technique, you can incorporate any of the variations or suggestions for the white rice pilafs on pages 372 to 373, adjusting the amount of liquid and the time accordingly. If you want to use white rice here, reduce the cooking time in Step 2 to 20 minutes.

Not essential, but cooking the shiitake mushrooms separately makes them crisp and adds a nice contrast.

• ½ cup dried porcini or other mushrooms, rinsed
• 2½ cups vegetable stock (pages 97–100), Mushroom Stock (page 99), or water
• 6 tablespoons olive oil (or half oil and half butter)
• 1¼ cups brown basmati rice
• 1 cup sliced onion
• Salt and pepper
• 1½ cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (reserve the stems for stock if you like)

1. Combine the dried mushrooms with the stock in a small saucepan over low heat as you begin cooking the rice. Put half the oil (or oil and butter) in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is extremely aromatic and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Lift the mushrooms out of the stock with a slotted spoon and add to the rice, reserving the warm stock. Toss the onion into the rice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir occasionally until the onion begins to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the stock in all at once, carefully; leave any grit in the bottom of the pot. Adjust the heat so that it bubbles very gently, and cover. Total cooking time from this point will be about 40 minutes; check after 20 minutes and again after 30 to make sure there’s enough liquid; if not, add about ½ cup water.
3. About halfway through the cooking time, put the remaining oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the shiitakes, along with a large pinch salt and some pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown on the edges, about 10 minutes.
4. When the rice is tender, uncover and cook over medium heat until almost all the liquid is gone. Stir in the browned shiitakes, taste and adjust the seasoning, and Serve immediately.