Lemon-parsley rice pilaf with beef and summer vegetables

· by · in Grains, Main Dishes, Veg*n or veg*n-possible. ·

A bite of pilaf on a fork in close-up, bits of ground beef, onion, parsley, and tomato scattered among the grains of rice, and a bright yellow chunk of squash dead center.

When I was growing up, my parents didn’t really do all that much scratch cooking. We had a couple heritage recipes that we pulled out for birthdays and holidays, and a couple casseroles, but food was mostly pretty utilitarian in our house: boxed mac and cheese, jar of spaghetti sauce with some ground beef added, canned veggies: get the family fed on a budget with a minimum of fuss. I feel almost like a traitor saying that, because my current social circle, much like the broad swath of middle-class America, has a very different set of food values; it feels like I’m talking about childhood deprivation.

A still life arrangement of vegetables and rice, yellow and green squashes crossed below a stainless steel bowl of white rice with tomatoes nestled in it, onion and garlic and parsley lingering at the edges.

But that’s not the case: my parents always made sure there was a balanced meal on the table, and I remember a lot of that ‘convenience food’ fondly: I still have regular cravings for Kraft macaroni and cheese with hot dogs cut up in it, for example. (You have to boil the hot dog slices in with the macaroni for it to feel right, by the way: it makes the cut ends bulge out a little, which is how I remember it. You’re welcome.)

A serving of pilaf piled in the middle of a plate, looking almost magazine-like in warm, soft-focus light.

I tell you all this as a way of not just saying “hey y’all, I made Rice-a-Roni!” First of all, I would never say that, because Rice-a-Roni is a trademark of the Quaker Oats Company. In addition, Rice-A-Roni contains not just rice, but also vermicelli, and a packet of seasoning, and those are definitely absent here. Ahem.

All that said, this dish is absolutely inspired by that famous commercial product. As a child, I remember being really happy when Rice-A-Roni showed up on the table: soft, salty grains, little bits of onion, small nuggets of browned hamburger meat. Mmm. When I was living in the dorms at college, I walked a mile to the Target specifically to buy a big microwaveable ceramic bowl so that I could make Rice-A-Roni to eat. It was a taste of home, a thousand miles away from home.

An overhead shot showing a plated serving of pilaf, a pan full of the remnants, and a glass of water. It's very simple, and would probably irk Sandra Lee with her elaborate tablescapes.

And even though my tastes and my cooking habits have changed dramatically since I last lived with my parents, I still love Rice-A-Roni. Sort of. Like I “love” cheap ramen, but really I just want to make it better. So that’s what I did: I took the idea of the thing I loved in my childhood and young adulthood, and I revamped it for my life now. Ground beef stayed in (though, vegetarians, you can omit it). Rice stayed in, since I have a long, committed love relationship with rice, but I cut the vermicelli because, honestly, it feels like a gimmick. Because I also have a deep love of vegetables, especially the sweet, juicy vegetables of late summer, I put in a whole garden basket. And since it’s not yet cold outside — though goodness knows it’s trying lately — I leavened the whole thing with bright lemon and green, green parsley.

The same ingredients from the earlier still life shot, but now prepped: cubed squashes, tomatoes in wedges, onion diced and sprinkled with garlic, lemon divided into a pile of fluffy zest and a spent rind on a juicer.

I am not exaggerating when I say it’s one of the best things I made this summer. Both Jarod and I ate a lot of it. It’s fantastic with a glass of crisp white wine — maybe something lightly bubbly, like a vinho verde? — but it’s also a welcome treat in a plastic container out of the breakroom at work. And among the grains of rice and bites of vegetables, I also taste my memories of home and of parents who kept me healthy and fed throughout my childhood — thanks, Mom and Dad.

Overhead shot of a pan full of rice pilaf, the sunlight picking out bright shards of tomato and squash and the warm tone of the wooden spoon nestled in it.

Lemon-parsley rice pilaf with beef and summer vegetables

  • Servings: 6-8
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This is a bit of a scratch-cooking riff on Rice-A-Roni, but while it certainly has some genetic relationship, it’s a very different beast: light and herbal while still being deeply satisfying, with a garden’s worth of colorful vegetables. It’s equally good in the evening with a crisp white wine or straight out of the breakroom fridge. I’m pretty pleased, and I hope you will be too.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 med red onion, diced (about 2 c)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c long-grain white rice
1 sm yellow squash, chopped (2-3 c)
1 sm zucchini, chopped (2-3 c)
2 med tomatoes, cored and cut into thin wedges
3 c chicken or vegetable stock, or water
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
Half-bunch of parsley, chopped (1/2 to 1 c, depending on how tightly you pack it)

Directions

In a wide, deep skillet with a lid (or a pot if you don’t have an appropriate skillet), brown the beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up into little nubbins, until the fat is mostly rendered. If your beef is fatty, you may need to skim off some excess so you get down to 2 Tbsp or so — with 85/15 beef I generally don’t bother.

Add the onion and garlic, and continue cooking until the onion is translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and continue frying until the rice turns to a flat white color, another 3-5 minutes. Don’t worry if it begins sticking; just scrape it up as you go.

Add some of the stock and scrape up all the stuck bits, then add the rest of the stock as well as the lemon juice, the tomatoes, the squash and zucchini, a large pinch of salt (larger if your stuck is unsalted), and a lot of ground black pepper. Bring just to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.

Let cook undisturbed for 20 minutes, then fluff with a fork and fold in the lemon zest and parsley.

Options

I like this particular assortment of vegetables, but honestly you can throw in almost anything fairly soft and summery. Onion and garlic go first, then it’s fair game.

I also have designs on a more wintry edition that’ll involve hard squash, but I’m not 100% sure a butternut squash, for example, would cook properly in 20 minutes. But feel free to try it out; I’ll edit this post if I get around to it.

Vegetarians, while the beef is key to my childhood memories, it’s not key to this dish. Just scrap it and use a couple glugs of olive oil to sauté the onion and garlic, then add the rice and proceed as directed.

4 responses to “Lemon-parsley rice pilaf with beef and summer vegetables”

  1. I see this and I am transported back to foods my mother used to make … with the flavored rice boxes, of course. Oh, yes.

    Early in childhood, it would have been with ground beef. Later, as she became more health conscious, she would have made it with ground chicken or ground turkey.

    So much yumminess! I look forward to trying your version.

    • If I’m being totally honest, I’d usually make this sort of thing with something other than ground beef, which I don’t eat much of. (I try to buy higher-quality beef that doesn’t come from a feedlot, and that’s expensive — but there was a sale, woohoo!) Ground turkey or chicken sounds good, and I can see a lot of non-meat proteins going well.

      • Not lentils, though. I tried it tonight. At least, if lentils, then add them later in the process. Even pre-cooked they soaked up much of the water and the rice came out underdone. :/ Maybe stir lentils in at the end…?

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