Julie’s beef pilaf
SERVES 4 PREP AND COOK TIME 20 MINUTES (+ STANDING TIME)
1½ cups (300g) basmati rice
1¾ cups (430ml) beef stock
¼ cup (40g) pine nuts
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 2 medium (300g) brown onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
500g beef mince
1 tablespoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
400g canned chopped tomatoes
1 cup (120g) frozen baby peas, thawed ¼ cup firmly packed fresh coriander leaves ½ cup (140g) natural Greek yogurt 1 medium (140g) lemon, cut into eight wedges
1 Bring the rice and stock to the boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, tightly covered, for about 12 minutes or until rice is tender. Or cook the rice in a rice cooker following the manufacturer’s instructions.
2 Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pine nuts; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until a light golden brown. Remove from the pan.
3 Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the same pan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Increase heat to high; add beef mince, cook, stirring constantly to break up lumps, until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add spices; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
4 Stir in the undrained tomatoes; cook until mixture is well combined. Add peas; cook, stirring, until mixture is quite dry. Stir rice through the beef mixture. Taste then season with salt and pepper, if required.
5 Scatter the pilaf with pine nuts and coriander. Top with yogurt and serve the pilaf with lemon wedges.
Not suitable to freeze. Rice suitable to microwave.