Coriander and Mushroom Pilau

I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps today. Not only do I still have a sharp pain in my achilles which is stopping me from training, but last night, as I rushed across the road in the dark, I managed to almost poke my eye out by running straight into the aerial of a sports car which was sticking out into the pavement. I have really cut up my eye and it smarts like hell. 

Anyway, that's enough of feeling sorry for myself. I took my mind off being able to see out of only one eye last night by making a delicious and quick coriander and mushroom pilau, which we ate with some grilled organic sausages and a crisp green salad, accompanied by a glass of red wine to numb the pain!  My 13 year-old son is off on rugby tour to Dublin this weekend so I thought he could do with a good, low G.I. sustaining plate of basmati rice to set him up for the journey. For 4 decent-sized portions you need:

300g basmati rice

a leek

a celery stick

100g mushrooms

a tsp or so of coriander seeds crushed in a peslte and mortar

a tsp of turmeric

a great big bunch of fresh coriander

some really good home made chicken stock.

Preparation:

1. Melt a knob of butter with a glug of olive oil in a large, wide saucepan. Add the sliced leek and the chopped celery and sweat this over a gentle heat for 5 minutes or so. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes then add the coriander seed and the turmeric.
2. Add the rice and stir around for a few minutes to coat with the oil.
3. Add the stock. It should just cover the rice by about 1 cm, no more.
4. Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer at a really low heat. Put a ring of greaseproof paper over the rice and then cover tightly with a lid.
5. Leave to simmer for about 8 minutes. Uncover and check that the rice is just cooked. The stock should have all been absorbed by the rice by now. You should be hit by a deliciously aromatice smell when you lift the lid.
6. Add the chopped coriander and plenty of black pepper. Fluff up the rice and serve.