This spicy pilaf (or "pilau" - both derivatives of the Persian word for a ball of rice, possibly also related to the word paella) is a hearty autumn warmer perfect for this time of year. I love that I could make this using the beetroots, radishes, dwarf French green beans and tiny fiery chillies coming out of my front garden vegetable patch! I substitute pearl barley for rice, which is quite common in modern western pilaf recipes. You will need pearl barley, smoked paprika, a sweet potato, some fresh vegetables, spinach, a small hot chilli, 2 vegetable stock cubes, garlic granules and half a red onion. I used frozen cubes of sweet potato and sliced red onion but you could equally use fresh. I also used fresh baby leaf spinach from my garden - which I am getting great big harvests of in late September! You could just as easily use frozen spinach instead. That makes this a great "store cupboard" recipe as you can use all frozen or dried ingredients. Essentially what makes it a pilaf is that the rice or pearl barley is sautéed in hot oil first, before being cooked in a (vegetable) broth. Add two cups of pearl barley and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan, and sauté the barley until it is golden brown. Then add the red onion, garlic granules and 300ml of vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Next add the chopped vegetables and a tablespoon of smoked paprika and simmer for a further 5 minutes, adding extra water as necessary. Finally add the spinach and cook briefly until the leaves are wilted, then serve piping hot.

• published: 30 Sep 2017
• views: 40