Shabbos Pilaf

For the Shabbos pilaf I use a very large and heavy 8 Qt Dutch oven, bright red, made in France, that I bought at Costco for either $50 or $80 – either way, this was a real bargain, because in other stores, like Bed, Bath and Beyond or Macy's, much inferior Dutch ovens were going for $250 and more.  I borrowed the idea of Shabbos pilaf from Ariel Atar, who once added a bagged pilaf to the traditional cholent that the Avner / Nankin team makes almost every Shabbos to much enjoyment of our congregation. 

I don’t cook the pilaf overnight like a cholent, instead I bake it for 2 – 3 hours on Thursday night, then reheat and keep it warm on the hot warming tray, that was also bought at Costco and looks like a professional catering gadget. 

So in a very large Dutch oven sauté 2 medium or 1 large sliced onion, sprinkle it with sea salt and pepper (I use Costco bought sea salt and pepper grinders, sold in the spice and condiments isle, sorry if this recipe reads like a Costco promotion), add sliced 3-4 carrots, sprinkle with paprika (you got it, I buy large paprika jar in the same isle, and in my kitchen spices get used very fast).  When onions become golden-brownish-translucent, push vegetables to the sides of the pot and add meat to the middle to slightly roast.  For this recipe I used 2 lb of bone-in lamb stew and 3 lb of chicken thighs, but it could be all chicken, or all lamb, or lamb and beef stew.  Beef comes a bit dry in a pilaf, and chicken breast is not recommended at all, but lamb is the best, and dark chicken meat is OK. 

Squeeze a few cloves of garlic, to taste, and sprinkle meat with coriander and Peleg shawarma spice from Garden Fresh, then just brown the meat for a few minutes, turning once.  Add 2.5 cups of rice and 5 cups of water (twice water per amount of rice), then close lid and put the pot in the oven at 300F convection or 350F regular bake.  Check after 2 hours, if there is still some water bake another 30 – 45 minutes.

Enjoy your Shabbos meal!