Recently, when shopping at Sam’s, the marketing efforts of Royal Basmati Rice paid off as the bright ink on the burlap bag caught my eye and somehow a 20 lb bag of rice that was not on my shopping list ended up in my cart.
That afternoon I made a Creamy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole that will find its way into a future post. The next week, I decided to put together a Pizza Rice Casserole that is the subject of this post. Realizing that I had more rice than recipes, I posted a request on my personal Facebook page for suggestions. A number of folks responded so over the upcoming months there will be more recipes and experiments to come.
Since we had a big bag of rice, it made sense to use a big pot. I know, that may not really make sense, but even so, I doubled the recipe and filled a 16 inch, 12 quart Lodge Camp Dutch Oven.
A layer of coals underneath put us in skillet cooking mode with the camp oven
Lot’s of coals under made for quick browning
With the beef browned, onions and garlic were added
After the onions began to soften, season with salt and pepper…
… then add the rice
Prego was our spaghetti sauce of choice. In addition we added chicken stock and milk.
Part of the fun of this project was that it calls for using the dutch oven with three different heating modes. Initially all the coals were placed under the bottom of the pot in a stove top heating fashion for a good hot surface for browning the ground beef and softening the onions and garlic. Next we added the rice and the liquids and once we were up to a boil readjusted the coals for a simmer. That was done by removing coals from below, leaving a ring of coals around the perimeter and placing a ring on the lid as well. (The third heating mode can be used at the end to brown the top layer of cheese by placing all the coals on the lid and using the oven as a broiler.)
When the rice got to the proper consistency the pizza toppings were added
the toppings were folded in gently before adding cheese
We removed the lid of coals and stirred about every 8-10 minutes to keep anything from sticking on the bottom and added water as necessary until we reached our desired level of rice doneness. Once we had the rice to the consistency we wanted, pizza toppings were added to the mix. Olives and mushrooms were left in larger chunks for the benefit of picky eaters so they could pick out what they didn’t want.
here’s the first addition of mozzarella…
… the cheese is folded into the mix
Even though we used a big dutch oven, we already had it nearly full. Adding the cheese was a careful folding process and now we’re nearly done. Good thing because we’re nearly full. Another pile of mozzarella was added to the top.
Another pile of mozzarella was added to the top
We were transporting dinner to another location so in order to keep cheese from sticking to the lid we covered the food with a sheet of parchment paper, then put on the lid. This turned a pile of grated cheese into a nice layer that evenly covered the top.
The good news was that it was a hit that we’ll do again. The bad news is we shifted from cooking mode to eating mode and forgot to take a final plated shot. There’s more good news though in that with such a big batch, there were plenty of leftovers.
The recipe below serves 12 to 18. We doubled that and had easily enough for 25-36. With a close look at the sauce and cheese labels, we confirmed that this batch was Gluten-Free for those on special diets.
Ingredients:
6 T unsalted butter
3 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 t dried thyme, or 3 t fresh leaves
6 T kosher salt, divided, plus more
4 1/2 C long-grain white rice
3 clove garlic, minced
4 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 32 oz Jars Spaghetti Sauce
3 1/4 C milk
Freshly ground black pepper
3 lb Browned Ground Beef
3 C Assorted Topping Veggies (Mushrooms, Peppers, Olives and Pepperoni)
4 1/2 C shredded Mozzarella/Pizza Blend cheese, divided
(ADDED water as necessary until desired doneness of rice)
Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, thyme, and 1 1/2 t of the salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes.
Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until they smell toasty, about 1 minute.
Add the broth, milk, and remaining 4 1/2 t of salt, and season with pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally so that the rice doesn’t stick to the pot. Okay to add more liquid if needed.
Add the meat, stir to combine, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. (Add water as needed if the rice absorbs it all before tender.)
Remove from the heat. Stir in the toppings/veggies and 3 C of the cheese. Taste and season with more salt as needed. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 C cheese, then cover again and let sit for the cheese to melt and the rice to steam, about 5 minutes. (If you’d like a browned top on the casserole, turn the dutch oven into a broiler by putting all the coals on the lid for a few minutes until the cheese turns golden-brown in spots.) Serve immediately.
