SMOKED SAUSAGE AND RICE
One pot dinner.
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 yellow capsicum, cut into 1.5 cm squares
- 1 red capsicum, cut into 1.5 cm squares
- 400 g smoked Russians or sausage, sliced 0.5 cm thick
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika or normal paprika
- ½ cup long grain white rice, uncooked (I did not rinsed the rice)
- 2 ½ cups chicken-or vegetable stock
- 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped, optional
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy based pot over medium high heat.
Add sausages and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
Add capsicum and cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
Add rice, chicken stock, paprika, salt, pepper and the sausage.
Stir, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low so it’s simmering very gently.
Cover with lid, cook 20 minutes.
Remove pot from stove. Working quickly, remove lid, add peas, then quickly put the lid back on.
Rest 10 minutes – the residual heat with cook the peas.
Add parsley. Use a fork to fluff the rice.
Serve immediately!
Notes:
Any smoked sausage will work here. They are well seasoned so they leech a ton of flavour into the oil which then flavours the whole dish.
Even raw sausages will work because they too leave a ton of flavour in the pot! You can’t really slice them though because the meat is raw and squishy, so just cut into small chunks. They end up looking like mini meatballs – it’s so good!
Best made with long grain rice for this one pot cooking method because it’s the least sticky.
Other rice types that work:
Basmati rice – same fluffy texture but you get the basmati aroma (which is lovely).
Medium and short grain white rice – works perfectly but the rice is a bit stickier (that’s the way it is).
Jasmine rice – reduce water by ¼ cup (water to rice ratio is lower).
Recipe won’t work as written for: brown rice, paella or risotto rice, wild rice, quinoa or other speciality rices. I’d need to figure out liquid/rice ratios and bake times.
No need to rinse rice first unless you’re concerned about rice cleanliness (rice in packets at grocery stores should be fine, I never rinse). If you rinse, reduce stock by 2 tablespoons (roughly the amount of water that will cling to the rice after rinsing).
Recipe tried and tested by Marika Tegmann
Photo: Marika Tegmann
