Mains Turkish
Mushroom pilaf (mantarlı pilav)
Buttery Turkish rice pilaf with browned mushrooms, cooked so every grain stays separate and fluffy.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Known in Turkey as mantarlı pilav, this is the kind of rice that turns up beside everything from stews to grilled meat – but with plenty of well-browned mushrooms stirred through, it's easily a meal on its own with a bowl of yoghurt or cacık.
Turkish cooks swear by three things for perfect pilaf: soaking and rinsing the rice to wash off the starch, adding boiling liquid in the right ratio, and letting it rest under a towel-lined lid at the end.
Ingredients
Tick them off as you go.
Pilaf
For soaking the rice
Method
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-
Put the rice in a large bowl, cover with warm water, add 1 tsp salt and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, wipe and thinly slice the mushrooms and finely chop the onion.
~20 min -
Tip the rice into a sieve and rinse under cold running water, rubbing it gently, until the water runs clear. Leave to drain well. Bring the stock or water to the boil in a separate pan.
~5 min -
Heat 1 tbsp of the butter with the oil in the pan you'll cook the pilaf in, over a high heat. Add the mushrooms and fry for 6–7 minutes until their liquid has cooked off and the edges are browned. Stir in the thyme and transfer to a plate.
~7 min -
Lower the heat to medium and melt the remaining butter. Soften the onion for 2–3 minutes, then add the orzo, if using, and fry until reddish-brown. Add the drained rice and stir for 3 minutes until the grains turn glossy and translucent at the edges and no longer stick together.
~5 min -
Stir in the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Pour over the boiling stock – 600 ml, one and a half times the volume of the rice – stir once and bring back to the boil over a high heat.
~3 min -
As soon as it boils, turn the heat down to its lowest setting, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and small steam holes appear on the surface. Don't lift the lid or stir during this time.
~15 min -
Turn off the heat. Lay a clean tea towel or kitchen paper under the lid and leave the pilaf to rest for 15 minutes – the Turkish demlendirme step that makes each grain separate and fluffy. Fluff up gently with a wooden spoon and serve.
~15 min
Enjoy!
The mushroom in this recipe
Mushroom swaps
Shiitake mushroom Lentinula edodesDiscard the tough stalks; gives the pilaf a richer, almost smoky flavour.
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatusTear into strips and fry for 2 minutes less.- Chestnut / cremini mushroom Agaricus bisporusMakes a darker, more aromatic pilaf.
Tips
- Measure rice and liquid with the same cup: 1 cup of rice to 1½ cups of boiling liquid. Cold liquid makes the rice mushy.
- Resist lifting the lid while it cooks – losing the steam leaves the rice undercooked.
- No stock? Use water with an extra teaspoon of butter; the mushrooms bring plenty of flavour.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate within an hour of cooking; keeps in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Sprinkle with 1–2 tbsp water and reheat, covered, over a low heat or in the microwave until piping hot. Don't leave cooked rice sitting at room temperature.
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