Mushroom Pilaf

Mushrooms

1. If you have picked plenty of porcini, you can always choose about ten that are not too big, a little larger than a chicken egg. This is the best option for a mushroom pilaf that is both tasty and beautiful.

2. Prepare the mushrooms: wash all the mushrooms thoroughly and remove any soil and leaves. Cut the mushrooms into large pieces, literally 2 or 4 pieces per mushroom. Porcini do not need to be boiled before frying.

   

3. Fry the mushrooms in oil without a lid. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Rice with mushrooms is much more aromatic if you use real butter. If that is not an option, odorless vegetable oil will do, but it is better to heat it until it gives off a white smoke. Add the mushrooms to the hot oil and fry, stirring often, for 8-10 mins, until golden. Do not cover the pan: otherwise the steam that is released will boil the mushrooms, and a side dish with mushrooms tastes better when the porcini are fried.

   

Rice

1. Fluffy varieties work well: parboiled, basmati (though it has a fairly strong smell of its own), or Spanish Calasparra Bomba rice. These are long-grain rices, whereas round-grain rice is usually quite sticky and is better suited to the Caucasian porridge shilaplavi: mushroom porridge.

2. Fry the dry rice with the mushrooms: add dry rice to the pan, stir and fry for 4-5 mins, stirring, until the grains turn slightly translucent.

   

3. Season the rice with spices. Bring water to a boil beforehand. Add just a little salt and pepper to the rice and mushrooms, then add 1 tbsp of dried or fresh soup roots: carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley. Add 1-2 pinches of dried aromatic herbs: oregano, basil, savory. To give the rice a pleasant yellow color, I suggest adding a pinch of saffron or any natural substitute: marigold petals, Imeretian saffron, safflower.

   

5. Pour boiling water over the rice and braise under a lid. Most rice varieties cook well at a rice to water ratio of 1:2, that is, 2 cups of boiling water (400 ml) per 1 cup of rice (180 g). See for yourself, it all depends on your rice. Stir the rice and mushrooms and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to the minimum, cover the pan with a lid and cook the rice on the lowest heat for 17-20 mins. The starch in the rice actively absorbs the liquid, and by the very end there is almost no moisture left.

   

6. Steam the rice: gently stir the rice with the mushrooms and leave on the lowest heat under the lid for another 5 mins, so the remaining moisture steams the grains and they turn fluffy. Ideally almost all the moisture is absorbed and evaporated, so the mushroom pilaf is dry and can simply be spooned onto a plate.

   

Serving

1. Put the finished mushroom pilaf on a plate and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. If you plan to serve it as a side dish, you can put it in a small bowl and set it on a plate next to a piece of fried meat and cucumber and tomato salad. As a main dish, rice with mushrooms can be served with a sauce and fresh bread.