A Whole Grain Knock-Off

by Shauna Sever — March 19, 2008

Getting enough whole grains has been all the rage for some time now, and one of my favorite sources is brown rice. It's at once sweet and nutty and can take us all over the culinary world, from Asian-inspired dishes to all-American chicken and rice dishes. One of my favorite ways to quickly prepare brown rice is to rip off the Italians and throw together a makeshift "risotto" of sorts. Using instant brown rice cuts the cooking time down dramatically, but still allows for good nutrition. When shopping for instant brown rice, look for the kind that cooks in 10 minutes--it tends to have a texture and nutty flavor more similar to slow-cooked brown rice than stripped-down brands that cook faster.

Brown "Rice-otto"
Serves 4

Instant brown rice (cooks in 10 minutes)
Chicken stock (packaged or homemade)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
A few handfuls of grated parmesan cheese
Fresh ground black pepper

Following the package directions, measure out four servings of brown rice and the appropriate amount of liquid, substituting chicken stock for water. Keep the rice and chicken stock in separate containers and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until they are fragrant and begin to soften. Turn the heat up to high and add the pre-measured rice and chicken stock to the pan and stir to combine. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Remove the lid, stir the rice again and reduce the heat to a simmer. Replace the lid and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the liquid is just about absorbed, but a bit wetter than finished rice should be. Remove the lid, and for another 2 minutes, constantly stir the rice--the liquid will continue to absorb and the rice's texture will become somewhat creamy and just start to pull together and off the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the parmesan cheese and a few grinds of fresh black pepper to taste.