Baked Rice Pilaf

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

You can make this baked rice pilaf packed with vegetables, curry, and saffron ahead of time as a memorable and flavorful side dish.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
12 saffron threads, or to taste
4 dashes cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 cups chicken stock

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook celery, sweet onion, and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
3 Combine rice, green onions, raisins, curry powder, salt, saffron, and cayenne pepper in a 9x13-inch baking pan; stir well. Stir in the celery mixture and chicken stock. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.
4 Bake in the preheated oven until rice is tender, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork.