Lebanese rice pilaf with vermicelli
An easy and delicious middle eastern side dish to have with anything from Kefta to vegetarian stews.
Calories:
Ingredients
- 2 cup white rice
- 1 cup vermicelli
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 4.5 cups hot water
Instructions
- First start by rinsing the rice. Continue rinsing the rice until the water runs clear. After rinsing the rice, soak it in cold water anywhere from 10-20 minutes. If you don't have time you can skip this step but I highly recommend soaking the rice.
- Next step is to fry up the vermicelli pasta over medium heat. In a large pot, melt the butter then add in the vermicelli noodles and stir to coat them all. Stay close to the vermicelli noodles as they will brown fairly quickly. Stir frequently to avoid burning your noodles. The darker they are the more nutty the flavor will be. This step will take 4-5 minutes in total.
- When the noodles are deep golden brown, add in the drained rice on top, top with the salt and cinnamon then give it a stir. Toast the rice for an extra 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Slowly add in the hot water into the pan and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil, stir one more time, reduce heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook the rice for 15-20 minutes.
- Don't uncover the pot for at least 5 minutes. This will allow the steam to finish cooking the rice. After that you can uncover the pot and fluff the rice with a fork.