Dirty rice

I have discovered two new favorite things: cooking rice with some onion and bell pepper, and a simple way to do baby bok choy. The bok choy method can be summer up in a single sentence.

Melt 2 tsp butter in 2 tsp olive oil (or vegetable oil); when hot, add the bok choy and saute a few minutes; add a generous splash of Chinese rice wine; that’s it.

In years past I have often discarded the turkey liver. Only because I had no particular use for it. This year was different. When I made giblet gravy with the heart and gizzard, I browned the liver along with them and then set it aside. My motivation? Dirty rice.

The essential ingredient for dirty rice is turkey or chicken liver. I added a bit of green pepper just to use it up. A bit of onion is nice but not required. Scallions would be good. The rice doesn’t look particularly “dirty”. It could have used 2 or 3 times as much liver. But no matter, I used what I had and the flavor was quite nice.

The protein is leftovers of the coffee-encrusted steak from a few days ago – still succulent.

Dirty rice
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
¼ onion, chopped
¼ green bell pepper, diced
1 cup white rice
2 cups stock (turkey or chicken or both)
¼ cup cooked turkey or chicken liver
salt and pepper to taste
1 scallion, white and green parts, chopped fine

Heat the oil. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté over medium for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and sauté 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook 20-25 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.

In the meantime, chop the liver into small pieces. When the rice is done, stir in the liver, season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning. Let it sit off heat for a few minutes, then serve.