Rice Pilaf with Homemade Vegetable Stock and Saskatchewan Wild Rice (Gratitude Post!)

Rice Pilaf (Vegan Sausage) and Homemade Tzatziki !

This is a gratitude post! This is a recipe that is grateful for friends and family who share recipes, food, and resources.

This is a rice pilaf dish that I came up to use homemade vegetable stock, based on our friends’ recipe (check it out on their blog!), and a long grain wild rice given to us by Mark’s Aunt and Uncle in Saskatchewan (Canada).

It made for a really easy and tasty weekday meal and the leftovers were just as good as the original. NOTE: You do not need to have fancy Canadian rice for this, but I do urge you to diversify the rice(s) you put into your pilaf for different flavors and textures. Just note that you may want to slightly adjust the broth/liquid depending on the type of rice.  

This recipe uses a field roast, but you could certainly sub for real sausage, fish, other meat, or simply veggies.

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 2 Tbsp butter (sub olive oil if you prefer/if cooking vegan)
• ½ cup orzo pasta
• ½- ¾ cup diced onion (yellow or red)
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup uncooked white/jasmine rice
• 1/3 cup Saskatchewan wild rice (sub for another wild rice, long grain rice, etc.)
• 2 ¼ cup vegetable broth/stock
• Field roast Italian garlic and fennel plant-based sausage (or other protein)
• ½ cucumber, diced  

 

Homemade Tzatziki (from Love and Lemons!)

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup finely grated cucumber
• ½ Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small clove of garlic, grated
• Pinch of sea salt
• ½ Tbsp chopped dill

 

Directions

Melt the butter (or heat the olive oil) in a lidded skillet over medium-low heat. Add the orzo and cook until golden brown stirring frequently.

Stir in the onion and bell pepper and cook until the onion becomes translucent (approx. 5 min), add the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Add all the rice and the broth/stock. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil

Reduce the heat back to low/medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed (approx. 25 minutes).  

While the rice pilaf is cooking, slice your sausages and warm up in a pan over medium heat until they brown slightly on both sides (if you are using uncooked meat, you will need to properly cook it)

While your sausages are browning and your rice pilaf is cooking, make the tzatziki: Squeeze liquid from the cucumber slices using a towel and then combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Remove from the heat (cook for a few minutes with the lid off if there is noticeable liquid remaining), let sit for a few minutes, and then stir.

Place rice pilaf into a bowl, top with the browned sausage slices (~ 1 sausage per person), add fresh diced cucumbers, and top with tzatziki!