Haute Cuisine: Vegetarian Hazelnut-Mushroom Pilaf

I used to be intimidated to make fancy-sounding or ethnic dishes from scratch. After all, what do I know about that? I've never been to cooking school or had any formal training. 

When I got my VitaClay I realized how easy it is to make amazingly flavorful and seemingly complicated dishes, and that just an addition of a spice or different vegetable can result in an entirely new dish. 

I have had a lifelong obsession with mushrooms--I'll eat them with anything, anywhere, in any shape or form. I also love hazelnuts, and I don't like spending too much valuable time cooking in the kitchen every day. (I enjoy cooking, but let's be honest: there are only so many hours). So one-pot meals in VitaClay have become my new best friend. I don't have to have a degree in cooking and I don't need to hire a personal chef to have delicious, healthy whole-food meals cooked from scratch every day! 

This long-grain rice and orzo is simmered in nutrient-dense homemade broth with hazelnuts and mushrooms and seasoned with parsley and marjoram. We created this to incorporate two of our favorites: hazelnuts and mushrooms. It combines rice, orzo pasta, and lots of other goodies - very delicious! Do I deserve a Michelin Star or what?! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c butter
• 1/2 c uncooked long-grain rice
• 1/4 c uncooked orzo pasta
• 1/2 c sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1/4 c minced celery
• 5 c broth
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 t dried marjoram
• 1/4 t ground black pepper
• 1/2 c chopped toasted hazelnuts

Directions:

1. Place a large skillet over medium-low heat. Melt butter, then sauté rice, orzo, mushrooms, onion, and celery. Stir constantly until rice is lightly browned.
2. Transfer the above contents into your VitaClay cooker.
3. Mix in broth, parsley, marjoram, pepper, and hazelnuts. Set VitaClay cooker on “Stew” and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Serve when the cooker switched to WARM cycle or let the pilaf stay in WARM cycle for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
5. About 6 servings (you're gonna want seconds)