Grain Free Alternative to A Traditional Rice Dish: Uzbek Plov Style Tongue Stew

Whenever my butcher in San Francisco, Oliver's Butchery has tongue, I buy it. He sources grass-fed and pastured raised meat and his cuts are amazing! He had a tongue drought for a couple weeks, but finally, last week I was able to grab one. As I've mentioned before, I love tongue and grew up eating it often. Lately, I've been enjoying using it in stews because of the rich yet delicate flavor the meat.

Another food that I grew up eating is Plov. Plov, also know as Pilaf in the US, is a rice dish with spices and vegetables native to Central and Eastern Asia. At my home, Plov was a version of the traditional Uzbek dish made with basmati rice, lamb, raisins, apricots, carrots, and onions and spiced with cumin seeds and barberries. My mom would often make a large pot of Plov and we would enjoy it for the whole week. A couple of years ago, the hubby's grad school roommate, who is from Uzbekistan, taught me how to make the real traditional stuff, omitting the sweet dried fruits my mother always added. After his tutorial, I made a pot of Plov for months.

Since becoming grain free several months ago I've been craving Plov, so I decided to make a stew with a similar flavor profile. You can't make a traditional Plov without cumin seeds. Cumin seeds help stimulate the secretion of pancreatic enzymes which help with nutrient absorption and also help the stimulate the liver to flush out toxins. Cumin seeds are rich in iron and are believed to help alleviate symptoms of the common cold. They add a great spicy zing to the stew. Additionally, because I didn't have barberries, I used Sumac to flavor the dish. Sumac has a wonderful tangy sweet & sour flavor and has anti fungal and antimicrobial properties.

Uzbek Plov Style Tongue Stew

Ingredients
1 Grass-Fed Beef Tongue
2 tbsp ghee/coconut oil/tallow/duck fat
2 Onions
4 Carrots (I used purple carrots from my CSA)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp Spice House Powered Sumac
1 tbsp Bright Earth Foods Himalayan Salt
1/2 cup sprouted lentils
1 bunch of kale

Process
1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in dutch oven and add 2 onions (sliced)

2. Add 1/2 tbsp salt and cumin seed, saute for 8 minutes

3. Shred 4 carrots and add to pot

4. Add Sumac and stew for another 5 minutes

5. Add tongue to pot

6. Add 4 cups of water and lentils

7. Bring to boil

8. Let boil for for 5 minutes and then bring down to simmer on low heat

9. Cook overnight or for 8-10 hours (longer is your tongue is more than 1 lb)

10. Once tongue is cooked, remove from pot and peel off skin and cube

11. Put back into pot

12. Cut kale and add to pot

13. Cook for another 8 minutes

14. Enjoy!