Alan says: “Pilafs can be found all over Eastern Europe, central Asia and the Middle East, ranging from the simple to the most complicated depending on the occasion.

“In this recipe, cherries and chestnuts impart their unmistakeable fruity sweetness on savoury lamb, buckwheat and fresh dill. Cooking the pilaf in the oven avoids any burnt bottoms and, I think, gives a nice crunch to the buckwheat at the surface of the dish.”

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

3 tbsp sunflower oil
500g lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 3cm cubes
2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
50g unsalted butter
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cumin
2 bay leaves
a pinch of crushed chilli flakes
75g dried cherries (or cranberries)
2 carrots, coarsely grated
75g cooked peeled chestnuts, broken up slightly
300g toasted buckwheat
8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3–4 tbsp chopped fresh dill, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Add the oil to your deep pot. Brown the lamb in 2 batches. Using a slotted spoon, transfer each batch to a bowl, keeping as much of the oil in the pot as possible.

Now lower the heat a little and add the onions and butter with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions have reduced and begun to caramelise.

Now add the allspice, cumin, bay leaves and chilli flakes with ½ tsp black pepper. Allow the spices and onions to cook for a couple of minutes before returning the meat and any collected juices to the pot.

Add 300ml boiling water and a generous pinch of salt and bring to a gentle simmer.

Cover the pot, pop it in the oven, and cook for 1 ½ hours, adding the dried cherries (or cranberries) halfway through and giving things a good stir.

The sauce should have reduced and thickened and the meat will be tender. Remove the pot from the oven and increase the temperature to 200°C/gas mark 6.

Give the lamb a good stir. Add the carrots and chestnuts in a layer on top of the lamb and sauce. Next add the toasted buckwheat on top and push the garlic cloves into the buckwheat. No stirring!

Now dissolve 1 tsp salt in 500ml boiling water and carefully pour this into the pot. Using the back of a spoon, submerge any buckwheat that appears to be floating. Pop the lid on and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven, stir gently and allow to sit for

5 minutes with the lid on before serving sprinkled with the fresh dill. Be sure to eat the garlic by squeezing the softened flesh from the skins – it’s delicious!

Tip

You can make the entire base ahead, let it cool and leave until the next day. Simply add the buckwheat and stock just before you want to bake the dish.

Best pilaf recipes: these fragrant one-pot dishes are perfect for midweek meals