Romanian chicken pilaf: A one-pot wonder with rich, comforting flavours
Share:
Irina Georgescu’s chicken pilaf combines tender thighs, creamy rice and a hint of garlic courgette for a dish that’s as satisfying as it is simple – a true taste of home cooking from the Danube. “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.
![[Irina Georgescu’s ‘Danube’ celebrates the unsung vegetarian traditions of Eastern Europe]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/07/08124451-0d2cff0f-2726-4c5a-b04a-ddb1b9f68806.jpg)
“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. To serve:. Good olive oil. Lemon wedges.
Tomato salad. Method:. 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.
