Tonight's Side Dish: A Perfect Batch of Rice

I am always looking for new ways of cooking rice, without a lot of clean-up. This one, if you soak the pan immediately after removing the rice, there will be no problem.

I adapted this from The New New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, a classic in my book!

It is cooked like risotto, sort of, and then baked. Comes out perfect each time.

You saute a bit of onion in butter and then add the rice, coat it with the butter, and then cover it with hot broth and bake it.

Here is my recipe adaptation (I added some Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning instead of the thyme, parsley and cayenne that was asked for in the recipe). Came out just delicious with no problems from my family.

                     *  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                         A Perfect Batch of Rice

Recipe By     : adapted from Craig Claiborne's The New NY Times Cookbook
Serving Size  : 4    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Rice                             Side Dishes

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   1 1/2  tb            unsalted butter
     1/2                small onion -- finely chopped
   1      cup           basmati rice
                        salt
                        Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning -- * see note
   1 1/2  cups          chicken broth
                        bay leaf
                        butter -- to finish
                        Variations (from book):
                        Cumin Rice:
   1      clove         garlic -- finely minced
   1      ts            ground cumin
                        Saffron Rice:
   1      ts            saffron (loosely packed)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat 1 tbsp butter in a heavy saucepan and add the onion. Stir and cook until onion wilts (does not color).

Add the rice and stir until grains are coated well. Add salt to taste. Add the Northwoods Seasoning and a bay leaf. Let the broth come to a boil and then add it to the pan. Cover the pan and put it in the oven and set the timer for 17 minutes exactly.

Bake the rice for exactly that amount of time. No more.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Add 1 tbsp of butter if desired.

Stir in and serve.

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NOTES : Risa's notes:

* This, of course, was not in the original. Craig Claiborne asked for a sprig of thyme, a touch of cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce and parsley. Northwood Seasoning has some thyme in it and a bit of paprika so I thought it would flavor similarly to the cayenne and thyme. Worked well.

**  I halved the recipe as it was.

Original called for butter in the directions, not in the ingredient list.  Parmesan would too.

Craig Claiborne's notes:

The rice can be cooked for the same amount of time on top of the stove, provided the saucepan has a tight cover.

This recipe is easily doubled simply by adding double the ingredients. The basic formula is 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups liquid. So if you wish to double the amount, then it would be 2 cups of rice to 3 cups of liquid.**

RisaG