Brown rice pilaf with bacon recipe

There are many variations of the pilaf, and most of them are quite good. This pilaf made with brown rice and bacon is admittedly a time consuming side dish to prepare, but it is well worth the effort. The hearty whole grain nature of the brown rice accounts for the longer cooking time because it takes a while for the brown rice to get cooked all the way through, unlike white rice. If you wanted to substitute white rice in this recipe, the results would be fine. It would lose the hearty nutty flavor, but it would cook a little faster with white rice.

Recipe ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

1 medium onion, sliced thin

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped or use a red bell pepper for nicer color

1 cup uncooked whole grain brown rice

3 cups water

1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon granules or 2 cubes

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 medium apple, peeled and chopped.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Take the bacon out and set it aside and keep the bacon grease in the skillet. Once the bacon is cool enough to touch, you will need to crumble it into small pieces.

Now cook the onion, pepper and uncooked rice in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender but still retain some crispness.

Now stir into rice and vegetables the water, bouillon, and ginger. Bring everything to a boil and then turn down the heat so you can cover the skillet and let the pilaf simmer on low heat. Check the rice after 30 minutes. If the rice is still hard, keep simmering with the cover on the pan. Add a little more water if needed. You might need to cook the rice for up to an hour. Just keep testing it until it is cooked enough to suit yourself. Then uncover and stir in the chopped apple and the bacon bits. You will just love this pilaf. It makes a great side dish and could even be a main dish if you want it to be. You will certainly want to eat a plate of it because it is so good.

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