Carolina Gold Rice Recipes

BRAISED BACON CAROLINA RICE

Steps:

• Cook bacon in a 4-quart heavy pot over low heat until some of fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened but not browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in spices.
• Add stock and tomato juice and bring to a boil. Stir in rice and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes (rice will be moist rather than fluffy and dry). Stir in celery leaves, butter, kosher salt, and pepper to taste, then remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

CAROLINA GOLD RICE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sizzling hot (see Know-how, page 100). Add the shallot and cook and stir for about 2 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the rice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir to coat with oil and butter. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme and just enough broth to cover the rice by about 1/4 inch, stirring just once to combine.
• Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes. Serve warm.
• Often called the grandfather of long-grain rice in the Americas, Carolina Gold is a beautiful variety that was the star of the antebellum rice trade and a driving force in the creation of a distinct Southern culinary tradition. Despite these claims to fame, Carolina Gold fell by the wayside after the Civil War, along with the South's rice economy. It was half forgotten and nearly extinct by the time Richard Schulz, a Georgia surgeon and plantation owner, rehabilitated the grain in the 1980s. Thanks to his efforts, it is now once again commercially available from vendors like South Carolina's Carolina Plantation Rice and Anson Mills (see Sources, page 377).

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN & RICE

Steps:

• Step 1 Season chicken with chili powder and salt. Step 2 In large Dutch oven or saucepan set over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp oil. In batches to avoid crowding, add chicken and cook, turning, for 5 to 7 minutes or until starting to brown all over, adding more oil as needed. Using slotted spoon, transfer to plate as chicken is browned. Step 3 Add onion and garlic to oil in Dutch oven set over medium. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until starting to soften. Stir in rice, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until well coated. Step 4 Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Stir in lime juice. Return chicken to Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Step 5 Before serving, fluff rice mixture with fork and garnish with cilantro. Recipe Tips: Add 1 cup frozen vegetable medley - such as peas, corn and carrots - in the last 10 minutes of cooking if desired. For a zesty addition, add 1/2 cup sliced green olives or 1/4 cup drained capers with the lime juice in Step 4.

CHARLESTON RED RICE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large (12-inch) heavy skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain, leaving behind drippings. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
• In the same skillet, add the chopped onion, celery, bell pepper and 1 teaspoon salt, and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, another 30 seconds.
• To the skillet, add the rinsed rice. Stir and toast the rice for 30 seconds. Add the crumbled bacon, tomato purée, stock, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, sugar, pepper and cayenne.
• Bring the rice and vegetables to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and add salt, if needed.
• Carefully transfer ingredients to the greased baking dish. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil, and bake until the rice is tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Check the rice after about 30 minutes to make sure all the liquid is absorbed, and the rice is tender. (If it's too dry or not cooked all the way through, add a few tablespoons of water or stock at a time, if necessary, and cook a little longer.) Fluff with a fork before serving and garnish with parsley leaves.

CAROLINA GOLD RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the rice in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water.
• Add the salt and 3 cups of boiling water.
• Cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in the condensed milk, butter, and raisins.
• Cook, stirring frequently, over simmering water until the pudding thickens slightly, about 20 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla and nutmeg.
• Spoon the pudding into individual custard cups and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Invert puddings onto chilled plates and serve with fruit sauce.
• For the fruit sauce:.
• Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in the top of a double boiler.
• Cook the mixture over simmering water until it thickens.
• Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, butter, rum extract, and stewed fruit.
• Serve warm over rice pudding.