Red Pepper and Onion Pilav by Yotam Ottolenghy

Juana, author of La cocina de Babel , brings us a recipe that many of you have heard at some point, the pilav (or pilaf) recipe made following Yotam Ottolenghy 's proposal. Tasty and very easy to prepare, I'm sure you'll repeat at home!

Sometimes it seems incredible to me how times have changed. When I was a child, traveling through Turkey, I tried "pilav" for the first time. In those years we had not yet reached the current globalization and we were completely unaware of many ingredients from the kitchen of other countries and, of course, we did not have the possibility of buying them either. For this reason, it took many years until I found out that this delicacy, in addition to being called "pilav", was made with bulgur and I had a recipe for it in my hands.

Pilav is more a way of cooking rice, and in this case bulgur , than a specific dish. Its origin is attributed to the Turks and Persians, although numerous variants can be found throughout the East and the Balkans.

"Pilav" in Turkish means "brown rice" and is what paella would be for us.

Rice or bulgur are cooked with a mixture of spices, meat, vegetables and broth until the result is a really simple dish to make, but delicious and surprising in its result.

Emile Henry "Faitout" ceramic casserole , Seigaiha porcelain bowl by Tokyo Design Studio and Nezumi ceramic plates by Tokyo Design Studio

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 small white onions, cut into thin slices
• 1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
• 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato concentrate
• 1 spoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoons of pink pepper
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 50g of currants
• 200g of bulgur
• 475ml of water
• salt and black pepper
• A handful of chopped chives

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in Emile Henry's “ faitout ” and sauté the onions and peppers over medium heat for about 12 minutes, or until completely softened.
2. Next, add the tomato paste , sugar, spices, raisins and stir for approximately 2 minutes. Add the bulgur, water and a little salt and pepper. Remove the whole and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, cover the "faitout" with its lid, remove from the heat and let the pilaf rest for about 20 minutes.
3. Finally, fluff up the bulgur with a fork and add the chives. If the pilaf seems dry, add a little olive oil. Serve hot.

Pallarès carbon steel knife and ceramic saucepan "Faitout" by Emile Henry

This dish is delicious as a single dish and served as an accompaniment it is perfect for fish … It's up to you!