EXPLORING PILAF

Sometimes, after an unhealthy weekend, there is nothing I feel like more than brown rice and vegetables. I spotted a recipe for ‘brown rice pilaf’ in the Australian Womens Weekly 1000 Best Ever Recipes a few weeks ago and became intrigued. What is pilaf? I wondered.

Turns out that it is a rice dish cooked in a seasoned broth, which usually includes onion, a variety of spices, rice, vegetables and sometimes meat. This definition greatly excited me, as I realized that I could happily play around with the recipe to add the vegetables in my fridge that were looking a bit sorry for themselves. Apparently pilaf dishes are common in East Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Carribbean and Central and Southern Asia. I had no idea that I was making a dish with such exotic origins. 

INGREDIENTS 

- I highly encourage you to get creative with your pilaf dish- add a few different types of meat or whatever vegetables you have on hand. Using spices like cumin, ground coriander and smoked paprika will add a delightful aroma to your meal. I was a tad conservative when I made my first pilaf, but am very excited to raid my spice rack and vegetable crisper in the future. 

• 2 sweet potato (500-600g), chopped roughly 
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock 
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 1 medium brown onion (150g), finely chopped
• 150g carrots, finely chopped
• 200g celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup firmly packed fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind 
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) brown rice

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. 

2. Place sweet potato with 1 teaspoon olive oil, cumin and ground coriander in a small bowl and mix well, so that sweet potato is coated. Roast on an oven tray, for 20 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. 

3. Meanwhile, bring the stock to the boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to a simmer, keeping the pan uncovered. 

4. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium saucepan. Cook onion, garlic, carrot and celery, stirring, until the onion is transparent. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes. Add the stock and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for about 50 minutes or until the stock is completely absorbed and the rice is tender. 

5. Remove the rice mixture from the heat and stir in the sweet potato, lemon rind and parsley. 

Preparation time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 1 hour 

Serves 2-4 

Nutritional count per serving 11.1g fat / 22.2g protein / 18g fibre 

x E