Open Fire Pilaf + Camping Pics!

A weekend getaway in the woods of Ontario is so soul-soothing… Get out of the city and loud noises, set your tent in front of a quiet lake, have some yummy food with best friends, and you momentarily feel resolved, recharged and restored.

That’s right, this post is all about our camping trip to Algonquin Park and loads of food ideas for the upcoming July 1st and July 4th celebrations! Don’t miss some awesome recipes at the end of this post!

I have washed my hair three times since we got back, yet every once in a while I can still smell the campfire. Perhaps it had something to do with the 20 or so hours of rain over the weekend combined with the low temperatures. We burned a lot of wood to stay warm and I was wearing a hood almost all weekend long. The smoke and dampness must have gotten trapped under my hood and simply become one with my hair. Camping is so fun!

We did enjoy Saturday with a gorgeous sunset, lots of chatting, relaxing and some really, really good camp food. When you’re sitting next to a campfire with a belly full of delicious food, a little (or a lot) of rain ain’t gonna get you down.

There’s just something about people sharing good food and drinks right under the stars that makes me more content than anything else in the world. Not to knock a home-cooked meal, but little else beats the woodsy sights and smells of a campfire dinner.

We made this amazing dish called Pilaf, also known in Uzbekistan as “Plov”. This is the most traditional dish of Uzbekistan and is very popular among most countries of the former Soviet Union. In Soviet Uzbekistan, plov eats you! Ok, enough with the bad jokes.

Pilaf is one of the most delicious camp foods you can have! It’s a super convenient one-pot dish made with fluffy rice, meat, carrots, onions and a unique spice blend. It is traditionally cooked outdoors in a large cast iron wok, or a dutch oven, over open fire which makes it incredibly flavourful. Use our recipe below for your 1st of July or 4th of July celebration menu!

In Uzbekistan, pilaf is the dish that is usually prepared by men and only men can perfect it 🙂

Ingredients:

1 lb stewing lamb (or pork, or beef, or chicken)

2 cups long-grain rice

1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks

1 medium onion, chopped

whole garlic

3 tbsp oil (with light flavour)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 cups water

cast iron pot

The first part of the process will go very quick, so I’d suggest having your meat, onions and carrots prepped and ready to go ahead of time.

First, set your cast iron wok or a dutch oven over high flame and add the oil. When the oil is scorching hot, brown the meat on all sides quickly. Traditionally, pilaf is made with lamb including some lamb bones and lots of lamb fat, but we only had some pork shoulder on hand this time and you can also use beef or chicken to add a twist.

When the meat is well browned, add the onions and sauté until they become translucent. Then, add the carrots and cook for another two or three of minutes.

Tip: when cutting carrots, it’s worth to take the time to cut them into matchsticks (instead of shredding them); this way they keep more bite and add to the overall texture.

Add the spices and season with salt and pepper. Cover the mixture with water, stir and bring to a boil simmering on low for about 20 minutes. This mixture of fried meat, carrot and onion is called “zirvak” and is the base of a good plov, a.k.a. pilaf.

While our zirvak is developing flavours, it’s time to prep the rice. Rice is the vital ingredient in this recipe and must be washed throughly before it’s added to the pot. Carefully rinse the rice a few times in a bowl with plain water until the water stays clear. This will remove all the extra starch from the rice and will make our pilaf light and fluffy as opposed to a pile of mush.

After about 20 minutes, your zirvak should be ready for the rice. Take a large spoon and carefully spread your washed rice over the meat mixture into the pot. Do not stir!

Layering the rice on top of the meat will allow it to absorb all the flavourful oils that come up to the top in zirvak. The meat will also act as a protective layer for the rice, so I repeat, do not stir!

If needed, add enough water to cover the rice by about half an inch. Push a whole head of garlic into the centre of the pot, cover and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes or until all the water has absorbed. You can take a chopstick or the back of your spoon and carefully make a little hole in the rice to check if there’s any water left at the bottom of the pot.

When all the water is gone, take the pot off the heat and let it sit covered for another 10 minutes. NO peeking!

Now you can stir! Mix everything well and fluff the rice. The rice should be cooked, but not sticky or mushy. When you spoon pilaf onto a plate, if your pile of rice is falling apart then the pilaf came out just perfect.

Here is the quick list of some more yummy menu ideas for 1st and 4th of July celebrations:

Lula Kebabs

Grilled Lemongrass Asparagus

Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings

Fajitas