Recipe Dirty rice

Dirty rice

Dirty rice is a traditional Cajun dish made from white rice which gets a "dirty" color from being cooked with small pieces of chicken liver or giblets, green bell pepper, celery, onion and spices cayenne and black pepper.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup long-grain rice (Carolina, basmati, jasmine, etc)

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 cup chicken livers

3 slices of bacon, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper or 1-3 jalapeños, seeded and chopped

1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning

2 green onions, chopped

Cook the rice according to the package instructions, but use chicken broth for one third of the cooking liquid. So, for example, if the package says to use 3 cups of water for 1 1/2 cups of rice, use 2 cups of water and 1 cup of chicken broth. Once the rice has finished cooking, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Turn the rice out onto a sheet pan and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over it. Mix to combine and let cool. While the rice is cooking, mash and finely chop the chicken livers, or purée briefly in a blender. In a large pan that can eventually hold the rice plus everything else, put 1 tablespoon of oil plus the bacon in and cook over medium-low heat until the bacon is crispy.

Add the ground pork and increase the heat to high. Allow the meat to brown before stirring. As soon as the pork starts to brown, add the final tablespoon of oil and add the celery, jalapeños, and onions. Brown them all over medium-high heat. dd the remaining cup of chicken broth and deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the Cajun seasoning and turn the heat to high. Boil away most of the chicken stock and then add the cooked rice. Toss to combine.