Skinny Bitch Tuesdays: Vegan Rice Pilaf
Hi, y’all! Happy Tuesday! Boy, do I have a fabulous new little series for your viewing (and eating) pleasure, Skinny Bitch Tuesdays! This idea came to me while cookbook shopping in Dupont. I stumbled across the lovely cookbook in front of your eyes and thought “yup, I need this.” Shamefully, it was because of the title. I mean, who isn’t drawn to a book labeled skinny bitch?
Well, after I perused the recipes, it was an instant “have to have.” All vegan, all healthy? Right up my alley way. After I bought it, an idea starting brewing in my head. Hey, why don’t I find some healthy bloggers to join me as we cook our way through this, like the PW Wednesday girls and the Milk Bar Mondays. So, I emailed a few of my very favorite healthy food bloggers (Stephanie, Jennifer, Michelle and Kelly) and TA-DA! We’re here and we’re ready to cook skinny, bitch.
To kick things off, we decided to whip up the tantalizing and delicious looking rice pilaf. I mean, you can’t go wrong with a rice pilaf.
The rules for our link up were simple. Make the dish in the book but add your own spin to it. I mean, that’s what we food bloggers do right?
For one, I opted for barley instead of a second rice. Because barley needs love to, guys. Then, I decided to add in a splash (read, 1/4 cup) of dry white wine to the caramelizing veggies. Because, I mean, it’s me, do you really need an explanation?
I may or may not have had some for breakfast. I also may or may not have eaten it with a giant wooden spoon last night while it was cooking causing me to burn my tongue. Speculative, of course.
So, hopefully this recipe is mouth-watering enough to get you on board with SB Tuesdays. Because skinny never looked, or tasted, this good. (I’m done with the tag lines, I think).
Recipe adapted from Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.
Barley & Wild Rice Pilaf
Serves about 4.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup wild grain rice
- 1/3 cup barley
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 5 baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons roasted walnuts * (optional)
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, heat 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add wild rice and boil for 2 – 3 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook 30 – 40 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the rice is tender. Leave on the warm setting so the rice doesn’t cool.
- While the rice is cooking, heat remaining 3/4 cup vegetable broth and 1/4 cup water in another sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, carefully stir in barley and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook about 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid is gone and the barley is soft. Remove from heat and stir into the wild rice mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a medium size pan over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook until soft and fragrant, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add oregano, white wine and rosemary and cook until wine has reduced by more than half. Remove from heat and add to the rice/barley mixture. Liberally season with salt and pepper and garnish with additional rosemary!
Nutritional information per 1 cup serving:
Calories: 88
Fat: 2 grams
Protein: 1.5 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Carbohydrates: 13.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points:
Be sure to check out these other amazing pilafs by these skinny bitches!
Stephanie: Quinoa pilaf
Jennifer: Wild rice pilaf
Michelle: Pilaf
(And sorry for the long absence, I was traveling/graduating)