Lamb Pilaf

By inpatskitchen • June 6, 2012 • 2 Comments

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Author Notes: Son Matt was in town last week for the Memorial Day holiday and so we had many of his favorites for the week - a seafood pasta, ribs for the actual holiday, smoked salmon, cream cheese and bagels for brunch - and for his farewell dinner, my Grilled Lamb Chops- Greek Style: http://food52.com/recipes/12119_grilled_lamb_chops_greek_style. I usually always make a rice pilaf and chunky veggie salad with this. The pilaf this time had in it - what else but LAMB!
Note that this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled and with ground lamb at my local butcher going for about $4.00 per pound I can serve many "on the cheap"! Just adapt your pan size.

- inpatskitchen

Serves 4 to 6

1/3 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup orzo
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
Juice of half a lemon

In a large saute pan, brown the ground lamb. Drain in a colander and reserve.
In the same pan warm the olive oil and saute the onion, celery and garlic until softened. Stir in the salt, pepper and ground cumin.
Still over the heat, stir in the parsley,rice and orzo and continue to saute for a minutes or two. Stir in the browned lamb.
Add the water to the pan and bring just up to the boil. Transfer the mixture to a 10 x10 inch baking dish (or one similar in size) and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the water is absorbed into the rice and orzo.
Remove from the oven and stir in the chopped mint and lemon juice. Serve hot.