Buckwheat and Beef Pilaf (Plov)

User Reviews

5.0

126 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    10 mins

  • Cook Time

    1 hr 10 mins

  • Total Time

    2 hrs

  • Servings

    8

  • Course

    Main Course

  • Cuisine

    Russian

Buckwheat and Beef Pilaf (Plov)

This buckwheat and beef pilaf is a play on traditional rice plov.

I Made This!

94 people made this

Save this

75 people saved this

Ingredients

Servings
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter divided
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 1 to 1 1/4 lbs beef chuck, sirloin or good quality stew meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2" to 3/4" thick pieces
  • 3 large carrots julienned
  • 2.5 cups buckwheat groats aka grechka
  • 4 1/4 cups cold filtered water + 1 cup hot water
  • 2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste (I use sea salt)
  • 1 tsp cumin spice to taste
  • 1 full head of unpeeled garlic
Add to Shopping List

Instructions

  1. Set a large heavy-bottomed stock pot or dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 1/3 cup olive oil and 4 Tbsp butter. Add onion and sauté, stirring occasionally until softened (about 5 min).
  2. Add cubed beef and sauté 5 min, turning once (beef will not be fully cooked). Add julienned carrots and stir another minute.
  3. Add 4 1/4 cups cold water and season with 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook 1 hour.
  4. Meanwhile (about 10 min before your timer is up), heat a large non-stick skillet over medium/high heat and melt in 4 Tbsp butter. Add 2 1/2 cups buckwheat and toast until golden, stirring often (3-5 min). Pour buckwheat into the pot in an even layer and gently pour enough hot water to cover buckwheat 1/2" above the level of the buckwheat (I added 1 cup hot water).
  5. Cut garlic head in half parallel to the base to expose cloves and place over the top of buckwheat, cut-sides-down, pushing into the buckwheat slightly. Cook uncovered over med heat until most of the surface liquid boils out (10 min).
  6. Poke 8-10 holes through the buckwheat to allow steam to escape to the surface, then cover with lid, reduce heat to the lowest setting and let pot sit another 30 minutes. Remove garlic and stir everything gently to combine. P.S. you can squeeze garlic cloves out of their skins and serve them in the pilaf if you wish.
Genuine Reviews

User Reviews

Overall Rating

5.0

126 reviews
Excellent

Write a Review

Drag & drop files here or click to upload
Other Recipes

You'll Also Love

Beef Plov (Beef Rice Pilaf) Recipe

Russian, Ukrainian
4.9 (591 reviews)

Ukrainian Chicken Plov (Rice Pilaf)

Russian, Ukrainian
5.0 (168 reviews)

Instant Pot Rice (Beef Plov)

Russian, Ukrainian
4.9 (885 reviews)

Kazakh Beef Plov

Russian, Kazakh
5.0 (6 reviews)

Uzbek Plov Recipe

Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek
4.8 (8,301 reviews)

Jeweled vegetarian rice plov

Russian, Ukrainian
5.0 (150 reviews)

Buckwheat and Pork (one-pot meal)

Russian, Ukrainian
5.0 (51 reviews)

Buckwheat and Mushroom Croquettes

Russian, Ukrainian
5.0 (39 reviews)

Chicken and Buckwheat Patties (Kotleti)

Russian, Ukrainian
5.0 (54 reviews)

How to Cook Buckwheat

Russian, Ukrainian
4.8 (1,164 reviews)

Buckwheat with Mushrooms

Russian, Ukrainian
4.8 (6,195 reviews)

Chicken and Beef Croquettes (Pozharsky Kotleti)

Russian, Ukrainian
5.0 (63 reviews)

Beef and Barley Stew (Slow-Cooker )

Russian, Ukrainian
4.9 (777 reviews)

Ground Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

Russian
4.7 (9 reviews)