I’m surprised that more people don’t know about this wonderful rice dish to serve with French dishes-it goes well with everything from sauteed chicken with a simple pan sauce to classic French braises and stews, such as Boeuf Bourgignon, Coq au Vin, and Blanquette de Veau (or, as I prefer, Blanquette de Porc).
Any-Night Baked Rice. Photo by Deb Wiley, who won my photo contest for this recipe.
And yet, no home cook I know ever makes this-and I know scores of wonderful home cooks (I’m a food writer and editor by trade). Whenever I have a colleague over to dinner and make this, they ask, “What did you do to this rice?”
Well, what I did was simply sauteed some onions and garlic in some butter, cooked some rice in the butter-onion-garlic mixture until it glistened, added an herb and chicken stock, and slid it in the oven. About 15 minutes later, out comes a luscious, moist, and fragrant dish worthy of your best French meals.
It is a recipe I adapted from Pierre Franey’s 60-Minute Gourmet Cookbook. I consider it a classic….except that no one I know makes it. Or am I wrong about that? Are there other fans of this great baked rice out there?
[…] a graceful flourish at the end thanks to cream, lemon, and a sprinkle of parsley. I served it with Any-Night Baked Rice, though noodles would have been fantastic, […]
Hello, Could you please help me? What on earth is French Braise? How is it different from a stew? I am a culinary translator and I have no idea what this dish is. Thank you!
A French braise is any French dish uses braising as a cooking technique. Here’s how it differs from a stew:
Braising means to cook meat in a small amount of liquid over low heat (usually for an extended amount of time, though not always-chicken thighs can be braised in about 35 minutes).
Stewing means to cook in liquid over low heat, also for an extended amount of time. However, there’s usually more liquid-the meat is covered by the liquid.
A stew is a dish that usually has to be served in a bowl-the liquids have a soup consistency. A braise is sometimes stew-like, but it can also be just meaty dish, with a sauce (not a stew).
Does that help?