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Lamb Pilaf

Contributed by: Melinda

This is very flexible. Use whatever vegetable you have fresh in your garden. Herbs can also be adjusted to suit what's fresh or suits your taste preference. You don't need much meat in this, so it's an excellent choice for those most flavorful cuts, like neck or shoulder sometimes available.

What you need

  1. Lamb neck slices (about 1 1/2 lbs.) or lamb shoulder chops
  2. 1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
  3. 2-4 garlic cloves, unpeeled, cut in half
  4. 1 fresh bay leaf
  5. 1 pinch saffron threads
  6. 1/2 - 1 tsp ground allspice
  7. Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  8. 3-4 cups water
  9. 1 cup brown basmati rice
  10. 1/4 cup pine nuts
  11. 1 large shallot, minced
  12. 1 Tablespoon each fresh minced mint and basil
  13. 2 cups chopped chard leaves or other vegetable
  14. Olive oil
  15. 1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice

How to make it

  1. Heat a bit of olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat or medium high heat
  2. Sprinkle lamb slices with salt, pepper and allspice
  3. Brown lamb slices on all sides (they're not usually flat)
  4. Add water, onion, garlic, bay and saffron
  5. Bring to a good simmer and cook until lamb is well done and broth is flavorful
  6. Remove lamb to a plate to cool
  7. Strain and reserve broth - chill for several hours so you can remove as much fat as possible
  8. Remove meat from bones and discard fat and bones
  9. Chop or pull into bite sized pieces
  10. Heat olive oil in a skillet (that has a lid) over medium
  11. Add shallot and pine nuts and cook until lightly browned
  12. Add rice and stir well, coating with oil
  13. Add 1 3/4 - 2 cups of the de-fatted lamb broth and meat
  14. Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 30 minutes
  15. Check for doneness and either cook a few minutes longer or proceed
  16. Add chard, lemon juice and fresh herbs and mix in
  17. Turn off heat, cover - let stand for 10-15 minutes to cook the chard and for rice to rest

A nice side dish is a tomato based salad.

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