Rice Pilaf With Parsley and Thyme

I know who Pierre Franey is and I know what a classic recipe this is, however...
Step two, "Add rice and stir..." is woefully inadequate and overlooks the opportunity to build characteristic flavor.
It should read: "add rice and stir to coat the rice with the butter. Raise the heat to medium and continue to stir until the rice emits a light toasted aroma and just begins to brown. Take care to not burn the onion." Then add the water (etc)

Toasting the rice is basic to pilaf.

To make this recipe a pilaf and not just cooked rice -- First, lightly toast the rice in the butter and onion (shallots are good to use, too) before adding the liquid; the grains will begin to sound dry and then it's ready.

After bringing the mixture to a boil, lower it to a slow simmer to let the grains cook more evenly.

While water is fine, stock or broth is far better. I will sometimes dissolve a bouillon cube (either chicken or porcini mushroom) in boiling water and use that.

My mother made perfect rice every time and I learned from her and I never have a problem. The measurements are always one cup up of rice to 2 cups of water. The rice is toasted in the butter: water and salt ,herbs added and then the lid is left on and it cooks perfectly!