Rice with Garlic and Pine Nuts
The flavors of the baked, caramelized garlic and toasted pine nuts transform an ordinary rice dish to something special. From an article featuring Texas rice recipes.
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 roasted head of garlic (see Note below)
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 3/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Melt the butter in a large skillet.
- Swirl in the garlic purèe.
- Add the rice and pine nuts. Sauté, stirring and tossing, until the rice is heated through and has absorbed the butter.
- Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley. Serve hot.
Note: To toast the pine nuts, add them to a good-sized, dry skillet and, over medium-high heat, stir briskly until lightly toasted.
To roast garlic, put a whole, unpeeled head of garlic (that's a head of garlic -- not just one clove) in a pan or baking dish in an oven preheated to 350°F. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over it and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until it is soft. You can speed up the process by slicing a half inch or so off the top of the garlic head. "Topped" garlic heads will roast in about 30 minutes. You can roast several heads at a time and refrigerate what you don't need immediately. Roasted garlic keeps well.
For garlic purèe, wait until roasted garlic head has cooled, then separate the cloves and squeeze the contents from each skin. Mash garlic with the back of a spoon to produce a rough "purèe."
Ready in: 1 Hr