Cracking open the Moro's Cookbook.

Tonight, I cooked something from the Moro's Cookbook that I received for Christmas.
It was fantastic, but lets rewind a little....

The Evening got off to a bad start, a signal failure at Moorgate left me stuck immobile, on the tube for 30 minutes.
Not Good at all.
(It doesn't help that I am slightly claustrophobic after years of cramming myself into unfeasibly small gaps on Central Line carriages in rush hour.)

I decided to get off, after progressing only one measly stop to Barbican and walked to Fenchurch Street rather than endure anymore time stuck underground.

The upshot of this travel chaos being, I got home much later than normal (such is the lot of the commuter.)

Anyway, I mention all this because, as I've no doubt said before - I plan my weekday meals with military precision. When I leave the house in the morning, I've decided what I'll be cooking in the evening - and tonight Lamb pilav with cabbage and caraway was on the menu.

It's a slightly more complicated mid-week meal, with a longer cooking time than I'm used to cooking. This means, I rushed in discarding my coat on the run, and waded into the cooking straight away. (Washing my hands first - of course)

To be brutally honest, I really didn't fancy cooking after the journey home, and if I'm being really, REALLY honest - uncharacteristically, the thought of ordering some kind kind of takeaway briefly flitted across my mind.
I'm so glad I resisted that urge.

Before we start - the Moro Cookbook explains that this is a Turkish recipe, and is therefore a 'Pilav' as opposed to a 'Pilaf'
It also talks about soaking the basmati rice for 3 hours, this isn't practical for mid-week eating - so I've adapted the recipe slightly - and it worked fine for me.

Lamb pilav with cabbage and caraway (serves 4) Cooking time - 45 mins or so.

You'll Need:-

2 Tbs Olive Oil
400g Stewing Lamb (I used Neck Fillet) cut into no larger than 1cm pieces.
1 Tbs Tomato Puree
1/2 Medium Onion grated.
1/2 Cinnamon stick
75g Butter
2 tsp caraway seeds
175g Basmati Rice - washed (they mention soaking for 3 hours - but 30 mins in warm water with a tsp of salt, whilst your cooking the lamb did the trick for me.)
1/2 Medium White Cabbage - finely shredded.
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley roughly chopped.
sea salt and black pepper.
Squeeze of Lemon juice.

To Serve

200g Greek Yoghurt seasoned with 1 crushed clove of garlic, a pinch of all-spice and salt + pepper.

In a Large Saucepan, over a medium heat add 1 Tbs of olive oil, add the lamb, tomato puree, onion and cinnamon - then cover with water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 30-40 mins until the Lamb is tender. Remove from heat and season with salt+pepper.

In a smaller saucepan, melt the butter until it foams and then add the caraway and fry for 1 min. Now add the rice, and fry for another minute.
Add the rice and caraway to the Lamb, add the cabbage and half the parsley.
Add water to bring the level of the liquid to about 1cm above the rice.
Cover with Greaseproof paper and a lid, steam for 8 mins.
Remove the lid and paper and leave the rice to sit for 5 mins.
Season with salt+pepper to taste, and add a squeeze of Lemon juice.
Sprinkle the rest of the Parsley on top, and serve with the seasoned yoghurt and perhaps some flatbread.

Bit more effort than my normal mid-week apres work fare, but this was truly delicious.
I'll definitely be eating this again.