One-pot Moussaka beef rice pilaf

Right here’s an awesome new beef mince recipe to strive! Suppose – Greek Moussaka flavours, in risotto kind in a useful one-pot recipe. Eggplant, beef, tomato, numerous garlic and oregano. Cosy. Straightforward. Satisfying. Totally scrumptious!

Moussaka beef rice pilaf - one pot ground beef and rice recipe

One-pot Moussaka beef and rice

Consider at this time’s recipe as a cross between moussaka and risotto. However a lot simpler to make than each of them!

It channels moussaka vibes with eggplant and beef mince cooked in a red-wine tomato sauce, heavy on the garlic and oregano (Greece approves!). And it’s received the hallmarks of an awesome risotto, with the juicy, oozy rice. By no means stodgy, by no means mushy.

It’s not genuine something. However it’s very, very tasty, and a very useful one-pot meal for these occasions while you need one thing easy to make that’s filling, cosy and slightly bit completely different. As a result of – what do you imply you’ve by no means cooked rice with eggplant earlier than?? It really works so nicely! Eggplant is a sponge for flavour. It soaks up all that garlicky, tomatoey, beefy flavour that bursts in your mouth while you bit into a bit!

Eggplant cubes for Moussaka beef rice pilaf - one pot ground beef and rice recipe

Components in Moussaka Beef Rice Pilaf

Right here’s what it’s essential to make this Moussaka(ish) pilaf:

Eggplant

One eggplant round 20 cm / 8″ lengthy, weighing round 300g/10 oz. It’s tremendous if it’s slightly bigger or smaller. I’ve made this with an eggplant 500g/1 lb huge and it labored nice and elevated the amount of the dish.

Different vegetable choices – Using eggplant on this recipe is what offers it moussaka vibes, although you may completely use different greens. Zucchini (courgettes) instantly springs to thoughts, being the same juicy vegetable (remember to minimize them pretty giant so that they don’t get too comfortable), as does pumpkin and huge items of tomato.

For the meat pilaf

Beef – I’m utilizing beef right here however lamb is equally as scrumptious. Rooster, turkey and pork additionally work however gained’t style as “Greek”! 🙂
Rice – I like basmati as a result of it has a beautiful perfume that I believe fits this dish, and it holds up nicely to this one-pot model of cooking, not like, for instance, jasmine rice which will get too comfortable and mushy (in my humble rice-snob opinion). Lengthy grain and medium grain rice may also be used. Quick grain rice and sushi rice will work however usually are not my first selection as they will get slightly softer than preferrred.

Rice to keep away from – This recipe as written will not be appropriate for brown rice, risotto rice, paella rice, wild rice, black rice, quinoa or fake rice (cauliflower rice!). It may be made to work however the recipe will want changes to order of cooking, liquid portions and so forth.
Chickpeas – I added this on the final minute as a result of it provides some good texture into what’s in any other case a giant pot of 1 dimensional comfortable texture. It additionally bulks it up utilizing a low-GI starch that can maintain you feeling full for longer – win, win!
Garlic – 4 huge cloves! Greece would have a coronary heart assault if we didn’t use garlic!
Dried oregano – One other ingredient used often in Greek cooking.
Onion – Important flavour base.
Pinot noir or different dry pink wine – It will add a contact of additional depth of flavour into the dish, but it surely’s not the top of the world if you happen to skip it.
Tomato paste and crushed tomato – For good tomatoey flavour!
Rooster inventory/broth – Higher than water. Low salt please! If you happen to solely have full salt, cut back the salt within the dish by 1/2 teaspoon or so.

Find out how to make this one pot beef rice pilaf

Lower the eggplant into 1.5cm / 3/5″ cubes. I don’t peel eggplant as a result of I haven’t encountered bitter pores and skin or flesh points (largely bred out of recent eggplants). If you’re involved, sprinkle the eggplant with 1/4 teaspoon salt and depart in a colander for half-hour to sweat bitterness out. Pat off the surplus water then proceed with the recipe.
Sauté the onion and garlic in a big pot, then cook dinner the meat, breaking it up as you go, till you not see pink.

Bloom flavours – Subsequent, add the oregano and salt and cook dinner the meat for minute. It will make the oregano flavour bloom. Then add the tomato paste and cook dinner that for 1 minute too. Don’t shortcut this step! It cooks out the uncooked bitter flavour of tomato paste and sweetens it, in addition to including extra flavour into the meat.
Eggplant and rice – Add the eggplant and toss to coat nicely in all of the juicy beef. Combine till all of the cubes are coated and alter from white to pink. Then add the rice and blend it by way of as nicely.

Cooking broth – Add the chickpeas, tomato, inventory, salt and pepper. Give it stir and produce the liquid to a simmer..
Steam rice 20 minutes – Wait till there are bubbles throughout your complete floor, not simply across the fringe of the pot. Put the lid on, flip the warmth all the way down to medium low (or low, in case your range is powerful) and let the rice steam for 20 minutes. No peeking, no stirring!

Relaxation 10 minutes – On the 20 minute mark, take a fast peek to make sure the liquid has been principally absorbed. There’ll nonetheless be a layer of thick tomato on the floor which is ok. Take the pot off the range and let it relaxation for 10 minutes with the lid on. Throughout this time, the rice will end cooking and soak up the remaining liquid. By no means, ever skip resting rice!! It’s important!
Serve – Take away the lid, stir by way of some chopped parsley. Then divide between bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of additional parsley. Dig in with a spoon!

YUM. That’s one nice bowl of cosy deliciousness. And an entire meal at that with virtually 1 kg / 2 lb of greens (eggplant + canned tomatoes + onion, sure, onion completely counts), protein and starch.

Nice served plain, as pictured above, however a dollop of yogurt wouldn’t go astray both (which I added yesterday after I made this for a crew lunch). And no one would say no to some heat flatbreads for dunking! – Nagi x