Recipes
Holiday Pilav
Makes 4 cups of stuffing; serves 4
Recipe by chef Ana Sortun
This Turkish dish is combines vegetables, fruits, nuts, fragrant spices and rice into the perfect stuffing for poultry.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 leeks, white part only, thinly sliced and washed
2 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated
½ cup whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pistachios, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
2/3 cup dried mulberries, currants or golden raisins
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 ¼ cup long grain rice, like jasmine or basmati, soaked, rinsed and drained
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Melt one half of the butter with the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and sweat slowly for 5 minutes, until soft and being careful not to brown. Stir in carrots and cook another 4 minutes until they become soft. Take off the heat and stir in the cinnamon, cumin, dried fruit and nuts.
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the chicken stock to just below boiling on medium heat.
In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining butter and when it is foaming add the rice. Stir well to make sure that all the rice is coated in butter and then add the hot chicken stock and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir once and bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes until the stock is absorbed and small holes appear on the surface. Take the rice off the heat and carefully fold in the leek mixture. Cover with a clean towel and leave for 10-12 minutes to cool down.
When cool, stuff a small turkey and bake as you would for stuffing. I like to add ½ cup of cooked coarse bulgur to the rice mixture before stuffing. It gives the rice some texture as it cooks a long time in the bird.
To wrap pilaf in pastry, line a 9 inch cake pan with shredded phyllo, making sure there is enough hanging over the edges to fold over and make a top. Brush generously with melted butter. Pack the pilaf in and wrap the phyllo over the pilaf so that it’s all enclosed. Brush again with melted butter and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Invert the cake pan onto a platter and cool for 10 minutes. Slice and serve immediately.
Copyright © 2006 by Ana Sortun.
From the book Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, published by Regan Books.
Reprinted with permission.