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Pilafi Me Garides

A rice pilaf cooked with shrimp, onions, celery, tomatoes, and oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Pilafi Me Garides

Time12 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the shrimp stock

  1. Wash the shrimp and place them in a pot.

  2. Add enough water to cover, add salt, the whole onion, and celery, and bring to a boil.

  3. Cook for 5 minutes.

  4. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and keep the liquid.

  5. Shell and devein the shrimp.

Make the tomato base

  1. Heat the oil in the pot.

  2. Sauté the chopped onions until light golden.

  3. Add the shrimp, turning 2 or 3 times.

  4. Add the tomatoes (or tomato paste).

  5. Cook about 5 minutes more, then remove the shrimp.

  6. Set aside and keep warm.

Cook and rest the pilaf

  1. Measure the liquid in which the shrimp were boiled, allowing 2 ½ cups for each cup of rice.

  2. Add that liquid to the pot with the tomato sauce.

  3. Bring to a boil and add the rice.

  4. Stir for the first few minutes to prevent sticking.

  5. Cook about 12 to 15 minutes until the rice is tender but has not absorbed all of the liquid.

  6. Add 2/3 of the shrimp.

  7. Mix well.

  8. Remove the pot from the heat.

  9. Cover with a clean towel and then cover the towel with the lid.

  10. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.

  11. Mold the rice into a pyramid shape.

  12. Garnish with the remaining shrimp.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

496Calories
31 gProtein
15 gFat
61 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Celery + ricetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shrimp
Provide the main protein and flavor, with the cooking liquid carrying its taste into the rice.
Raw rice
Forms the body of the pilaf; its starch absorbs the stock and sets the final texture.
Tomatoes
Add acidity, color and body to the sauce that the rice cooks in.
Onion
Softens and browns lightly in the oil, adding sweetness and savory depth to the base.
Oil
Carries flavor and helps the onion turn golden while keeping the rice from sticking.

The step that matters

Cook the rice until tender but not fully absorbed. Rice keeps absorbing liquid as it rests covered, so stopping at tender with some liquid left lets the grains finish softly and avoids a mushy, overly wet pilaf.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, celery, tomato, rice):

  1. Okrafits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, celery, tomato, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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