I tried this rice tonight and it was a huge hit!! I made it exactly as the recipe stated except I added small bits of carrots just because I like carrots in rice. The cayenne pepper was subtle, but there - it gave it just a touch of heat and i basically like saffron in anything. I cannot wait to make this again. It may just be the best recipe I have ever made from AllRecipes !!!!

You know, I was making such a small amount of this recipe for Hubs and me that I immediately decided the oven method wasn’t practical for me and decided to just use the traditional stovetop method instead. But I must say, after reading through the recipe thoroughly I wasn’t impressed, and wondered, truly, what the real advantage was of preparing the rice this way rather than the stovetop method regardless of the number of servings. This recipe’s method requires more steps and more pans. The stovetop method is a “one stop shop.” Also, I’m not sure I like the ratio of rice to liquid either - in my mind, it should always be one part rice to (at least) two parts cooking liquid, be it water or stock. I like the addition of saffron and onion, but neither is anything special. And the cayenne isn’t necessary at all. Frankly, the bottom line is that this is a basic, simple rice with an unnecessarily complicated way of cooking it. In addition to simply cooking it on the stove top I made it a little more colorful and festive by adding a medley of colorful finely chopped bell peppers, fresh minced garlic and a good handful of frozen peas. Prepared as directed, this requires unnecessary steps that don’t benefit the final result.

Great way to cook basic rice pilaf. Perfect ratio between the rice and liquid. I used Asian short grain rice (Japanese brand) because that's what I always have on hand. I usually cook my rice (not pilaf or seasoned in any way) in a rice cooker and pilaf on stove top (which can be tricky sometimes even when using long grain). I tried this oven method using my Asian rice and followed the recipe. Surprisingly they came out excellent! I omitted the saffron, just a very tiny pinch of cayenne and kosher salt, and tiny bit of freshly ground black pepper. Because DH and I are vegetarian, I used all water and about 1/8 tsp of vegetable bouillon (Better Than Bouillon in a glass jar). Will definitely make again!

This tasted very good. I prefer my pilaf with a little veggies in it, but aside from that it was great. Cooked up perfectly and accompanied my chicken wonderfully!

This was awesome, exactly as written. At first I thought I should have added more broth because it looked dry, but it turned out to have excellent texture and the rice was perfectly al dente. We enjoyed the leftovers for several days.

Hey Chef John, I tried this recipe and we loved it. My husband is French and you can imagine he is not easy to please when it comes to food, but every time I tried one of your recipes he liked it a lot. I guess your taste in food and ingredients correspond to ours. Keep on the greate work, teaching neohpites like myself seem like professional cooks. By the way I told hubby yesterday that I love you so much I am willing to leave him for you, he's kinda OK with it ???!

Wow, I can't believe how well this recipe turned out. Yummy and perfect for my families taste buds. A perfect side dish to our broiled tilapia and asparagus.

A basic rice pilaf that tastes great as is, but can be used as a base for your own creation! The whole family ate the lot. As we usually have one child per meal who simply refuses to eat at least ONE side, the fact that there were no leftovers is irrefutable proof that this is a five star recipe! Baking was also a nice change of pace for rice. It made it easier to leave it alone while it steamed! Lol

Loved it! So simple, came out perfect following the recipe as is. It made a ton, so next time I will cut it in half and cook in an 8x8 pan. Will make again!

Great recipe. Very simple side dish. Followed the recipe.