Lowcountry Red Rice Food

GULLAH RED RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the rice until the water becomes slightly clear. (This removes the starch.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables soften and start to brown at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir rice into the tomato mixture and cook, uncovered, and stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and spread into an even layer. Add just enough water to cover the rice (about 2 cups). Tightly cover with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes without uncovering the baking dish. Turn off the oven, remove the rice, fluff the rice, then cover and return to oven for 10 minutes more.

LOWCOUNTRY RED RICE

Steps:

• If using fresh tomatoes, drain them in a sieve or colander set over a bowl to catch their juices; set juices aside.
• In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is beginning to crisp; with a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.
• Return Dutch oven of drippings to the stove; add the onion, bell pepper, and celery; saute until softened, about 10 minutes (add a little oil if the bacon fat seems insufficient).
• Add the jalapeno, poblano, tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme to the pot; season with salt and pepper to taste; simmer for about 10 minutes, until the peppers have softened.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the broth with a scant 1/4 cup of the reserved tomato juices (discard any remaining juice) and add salt to taste.
• Bring to a simmer; add the rice, return to a simmer, and stir a few times.
• Decrease heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook until the rice is tender, about 16 minutes.
• Add the rice to the vegetable mixture, along with the bacon; taste for seasonings.
• Stir in the scallions, basil, and a big squeeze of lemon; serve immediately.

LOW COUNTRY RED RICE

Steps:

• Fry the bacon pieces until they are crisp, then remove the cooked bacon from the frying pan and reserve. In the bacon drippings fry the onion until limp. Add the tomato juice or V8, salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce and bring up to a boil. Put in the rice and stir until it comes up to a boil again. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to very low. Cook the dish for 20 minutes without disturbing. At the end of this time remove the cover and stir up the contents of the pan. Cover again, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Add the reserved bacon and serve.

LOWCOUNTRY RED RICE

Steps:

• Cook bacon slices in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp.
• Remove bacon,and drain on paper towels,reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings in skillet.
• Crumble bacon; set aside.
• Saute diced onion in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until tender but not browned.
• Add tomato paste to skillet, stirring until mixture is smooth.
• Gradually stir in the chicken broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.
• Stir in sugar, salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
• Combine tomato mixture and rice in top portion of a cooktop rice steamer; stir in crumbled bacon.
• Add water to bottom of steamer, and bring to boil over high heat.
• Place top of steamer over boiling water.
• Reduce heat to medium-high; cover and cook 1 hour or until rice is tender, stirring every 15 minutes.
• To prepare in oven, stir the rice into the tomato mixture in the skillet and bring to a boil; stir in bacon pieces. Pour mixture into a lightly greased oven-proof Dutch oven. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.