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Creole Rice
Remove the veins and seeds from 2 large, ripe red peppers and chop them fine. Peel 1 large white onion and chop fine with 1/4 of a pound of raw, lean ham. Melt in a saucepan 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, and when hot add the peppers, onion, and ham. Let them cook, stirring frequently, for ten minutes. Add 1 cupful of well washed and drained rice and cook five minutes, then add 3 cupfuls of strong beef soup or broth. Cover and cook slowly for half an hour. Peel and cut small 4 or 5 large tomatoes (or use about 1/3 of a can), add them to the rice with 1 teaspoonful of salt. Cover and cook slowly, watching that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. When it is tender stir in with a fork 1 tablespoonful of butter and let it stand five minutes longer, then serve.
A tomato-and-pepper pilaf built in one pan, close kin to a meatless jambalaya. The one thing to watch is the liquid: three cups of broth plus tomatoes for a single cup of rice is generous by modern standards, and the pot needs low heat and occasional attention rather than a lid left alone for an hour.
- Liquid and total timeModern long-grain white rice absorbs about 1 3/4 to 2 cups of liquid per cup and is tender in 18-20 minutes. Following the original's half hour plus a further tomato-stage simmer will give a soft, almost risotto-like grain; if you want distinct grains, start with 2 cups of broth, add the tomatoes early, and check at 20 minutes.
- "Red peppers"These are sweet peppers, not chiles \u2the instruction to remove veins and seeds is standard bell-pepper prep of the period. Two large red bells are right. A pinch of cayenne is in keeping if you want the heat a Creole cook would likely have added.
- Raw lean ham"raw" here means uncooked rather than boiled ham, a quarter pound cut from the leg. Diced country ham, prosciutto ends or a thick slice of unsmoked gammon all work; ordinary deli ham is already cooked and will simply salt the pot without rendering anything.
- "About 1/3 of a can"Can sizes of the period varied and were often larger than a modern 14-16 ounce tin, so the exact weight intended is uncertain; treat it as roughly three-quarters of a cup to a cup of tomatoes, drained of the thinnest juice. Four or five large fresh tomatoes is considerably more, closer to 2 pounds; either quantity works but the fresh version needs the extra evaporation time.
- Washing the riceRinsing until the water runs clear removes surface starch and is what keeps this from turning gluey given the long cook. Drain it well before it hits the butter, or the fat will spit.
- Strong beef broth\"Strong\" means a reduced homemade stock, well gelatinous and already seasoned. Commercial boxed broth is thinner and saltier, so hold back the teaspoon of salt until the tomatoes have cooked in and taste then.
- StickingWith ham fat, tomato and starch in one pan, the bottom scorches easily. Use a heavy pot, the lowest steady heat you have, and lift the rice from the bottom with a fork rather than stirring it into paste.
- YieldEnough for four as a side dish, or three as a supper on its own. The final tablespoon of butter forked through and the five-minute rest off the heat are worth keeping — they loosen the grains and finish the sauce.