Just 10 minutes of active effort, a fabulous midweek meal to add to your rotation!
Wikipedia says A Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth.
Thats exactly what this dish is.
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Lamb mince and spinach cooked with rice seasoned with Middle Eastern spices.
Hence its name Middle Eastern Lamb and Lentil Rice Pilaf.Ive repeatedly professed my love for Middle Eastern food.
Its the spices that does it for me.
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I find the smell and flavour of Middle Eastern spices irresistible.
Youll be surprised at the quantity of greens hidden in this pilaf.
There are 6 cups of silverbeet (chard) packed cups!
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I alternate between spinach and silverbeet in this recipe depending on price as they can vary quite a lot.
To me, a complete meal is one with a Nutrition Grade rating of A.
Its kind of sharing my lessons learned from all the attempts and failures making this over the years.
Those that arent interested can skip right over it and get to the recipe!
a) Silverbeet (chard) I made this one using silverbeet because thats what I had.
Silverbeet leaves are thicker than spinach so the steps are slightly different.
If you dont mind that, then include the stem but I recommend slicing it finely.
Silverbeet cooked with the rice tends to turn brown.
The residual heat wilts the spinach while the rice is resting, then stir it through.
So when using spinach, I add all of it to the resting rice.
To cook plain rice, typically the ratio is 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water.
So the combination of these factors contribute to the liquid content to produce a perfectly al dente rice pilaf.
Too much liquid will result in overcooked rice which is sticky and gluggy.
They can simply be added when you add the rice.
But zucchinis, eggplants and capsicums (bell peppers) have a high water content.
Who here likes stewed mince?
e) Other meats this dish is just as fabulous made with beef mince (ground beef).
Lamb is best because the flavour of lamb is quite strong which goes well with these aromatic spices.
f) Vegetarian yes, this dish is great to make into a vegetarian dish.
Substitute the lamb with more vegetables (follow d) above) or just omit altogether.
Great vegetables to add are: grated or diced carrot, zucchini and eggplant.
OK, enough with the foodie geek stuff!
It serves 4 normal servings or 5 smaller servings.
Love to hear if you try it and what you think!
I always love getting feedback (constructive criticism is always welcome :)).
