Skip to Content

Fresh Herb Rice Pilaf {SRC}

Sharing is caring!

A recipe worth raiding the herb garden! Basil, thyme, oregano, and chives make this from-scratch pilaf colorful and tastier than anything you can buy in a box!

Happy Monday darlings! It’s that time of the month again, Secret Recipe Club reveal day! Today’s is bittersweet for me. I joined the Secret Recipe Club excitedly the moment I had the required number of recipes on the blog, and I looked forward to exploring a new blog each month and trying a different recipe. You may recall the Thai Peanut Wraps, DIY Buttermilk, and Cookie Butter Cookies from previous SRC reveal days. But things have gotten a little busy in the world of the Godmother, and as a one-woman show, it’s important I find and maintain a balance between family and blog life. So this is my last post with the Secret Recipe Club for now, and what a beautiful closing recipe!

I’ve secretly hoped to be assigned to Kelly’s blog, Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen, since I realized she was in my group. I’ve been following her blog for a little while, and she has so many recipes that look delicious. I love the conversational tone in which she presents each of them too, so it’s easy to get lost in her website for a while. It took me three days to choose a recipe, and dropping temperatures and my basil plant chose for me. They did good. We’ve made this recipe twice so far, and I’m sure we’ll be making it again, especially since I want to try out a little variety and add roasted pine nuts. Want to know what I made?

A recipe worth raiding the herb garden! Basil, thyme, oregano, and chives make this from-scratch pilaf colorful and tastier than anything you can buy in a box!

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club reveal, I chose Kelly’s Herb Garden Rice Pilaf.

I thought of my mother when I saw the recipe because we went through a brief phase when I was in high school where we would buy the boxed rice pilaf and then my mother would add extra rice and a few other things to doctor it up and bring the sodium level to something reasonable. 😉 While I don’t think my parents buy the box mixes now, I feel like this is the kind of recipe I could see my mom trying to make (she’d change everything about it… it’s what she does, even to my recipes haha). I know this would still turn out delicious though, because fresh herbs and rice are a wonderful combination! I know technically this is a side dish, but our favorite way to eat it is as a main dish with an egg on top.

I did make a few minor changes to suit or preferences and the contents of my herb garden. I cut back on the butter, used homemade broth, added a little more basil (only an extra leaf or two), and used dried thyme because I didn’t grow thyme this year. I also sauteed the rice a little in the butter before adding the broth and bringing it to a boil. A high school friend’s dad owned a restaurant, and when he cooked rice with butter, he always toasted it first in the butter instead of melting everything together. You don’t brown the butter, but that little extra cooking step adds a depth of flavor that’s really delicious and something I associate with pilaf. If you forget though (because I did boil everything together one of the times I made it), the recipe still turns out wonderful, so do what makes you happy.

A recipe worth raiding the herb garden! Basil, thyme, oregano, and chives make this from-scratch pilaf colorful and tastier than anything you can buy in a box!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Thank you Kelly for such a great dish! To all the lovely ladies I’ve had the pleasure of cooking with in the SRC, you are a blessing, thank you for sharing your work with me this past year. I’m sure we’ll see each other around the blogosphere. 🙂

A recipe worth raiding the herb garden! Basil, thyme, oregano, and chives make this from-scratch pilaf colorful and tastier than anything you can buy in a box!

Fresh Herb Rice Pilaf {SRC}

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup long grain rice
  • 1.5 tbsp salted butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, about 1.5 tsp, minced
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 4-5 leaves fresh basil, finely julienned
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme, you may use fresh, I just didn't have any on hand
  • 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves, finely diced
  • 1-2 tbsp fresh chopped chives

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat with the garlic. Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook 2-3 minutes.
  2. Stir in the broth, bring the heat up to medium high, and bring the broth to a boil.
  3. Once the broth reaches a boil, add the herbs (not the chives) and pepper, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot. 15 minutes while the rice absorbs the broth. Do not uncover the rice while it cooks.
  4. Once all the water appears to be absorbed, turn off the burner, remove the rice from the heat (don't uncover it yet), and allow it to stand 5 minutes.
  5. Uncover the rice, fluff with a fork, adjust salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm. Garnish with fresh chives.

Did this recipe inspire you?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

 

 

A recipe worth raiding the herb garden! Basil, thyme, oregano, and chives make this from-scratch pilaf colorful and tastier than anything you can buy in a box!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

CJ Huang

Friday 13th of November 2015

Sorry to hear this is your last SRC, but it looks like a yummy pilaf you made! Great idea to cook the rice a bit in the butter first. I bet it gives it a better flavor. :)

Tara

Wednesday 11th of November 2015

I look forward to trying out this rice pilaf recipe, I normally just buy the box, never even thought about making it myself.

Renee@Renee's Kitchen Adventures

Monday 9th of November 2015

I'm a fan of Kelly's blog too. This was a great choice for SRC!

Sarah@WellDined

Monday 9th of November 2015

Simple and beautiful. How sad that you are leaving - your blog and photos are gorgeous!

Kate

Monday 9th of November 2015

Great side dish! Love the addition of fresh herbs. They do provide a nice punch of flavor

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe