Romanian chicken pilaf: A one-pot wonder with rich, comforting flavours

“A pilaf is one of the most popular dishes in Romania, a fantastic combination of any ingredients we have at hand, cooked together with rice: chicken pilaf, vegetable pilaf and even fruit pilaf,” explains Irina Georgescu.

“The rice is cooked in plenty of stock, and stewed gently in a covered pot until it reaches a creamy yet runny consistency.”

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

35ml (generous 2 tbsp) sunflower oil

4 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1 large brown onion, finely sliced

300g potatoes, cut into thick chunks

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

250g long-grain white rice

1L vegetable or chicken stock

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 medium courgette

2 large garlic cloves

1 tsp chopped marjoram, fresh or dried

Salt

To serve:

Good olive oil

Lemon wedges

Tomato salad

Method:

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1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan (325F/gas 3).

2. Use a 23-24 centimetre, 12 centimetre-deep casserole dish with a lid (otherwise, cooking times may differ).

3. Cover the base with the oil and heat well. Sprinkle the chicken with salt generously, and fry the thighs in one layer for 15 minutes, turning often. Keep the heat on medium so they don’t burn, then transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.

4. Fry the onion with a good pinch of salt in the remaining oil over a medium heat for eight minutes. Add the potatoes, combine well and fry for another three minutes, then add the vinegar and scrape the base of the pan with a spatula to remove all those caramelised bits.

5. Place the chicken thighs on top of the potatoes in one layer, then scatter the rice on top and add the stock. Taste the stock to make sure it’s salty enough; if not, add more to the dish. The secret to a good pilaf is using a generous amount of salt. Add the black pepper, then cover and cook in the oven for 25 minutes. It will make a rather loose pilaf. Alternatively, cook it until the stock is completely absorbed.

6. Meanwhile, grate the courgette and garlic together and mix with the marjoram. When the rice is cooked, spread this mixture on top, put the lid back on and leave the pan to sit for five minutes out of the oven.

7. Serve immediately with a drizzle of your best olive oil, wedges of lemon to squeeze on top and a tomato salad.

Recipe from ‘Danube’ by Irina Georgescu (Hardie Grant, £28).