Red Rice

Ingredients

• 400 g smoked sausage or thick-cut bacon, smoked sausage sliced into rounds, or bacon cut into lardons
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, finely diced
• 400 g crushed tomato, tinned
• 60 g tomato paste
• 500 ml chicken or pork stock, warm
• 500 g long-grain white rice, Carolina Gold when available; rinsed until water runs clear
• 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste

Method

1. 1
   Set a wide, heavy-lidded pot over medium heat. Add the sausage rounds or bacon lardons and render without crowding, turning once, until the fat runs freely and the meat takes on colour at the edges. Do not drain the fat — it remains in the pot as the cooking medium. The meat is ready when it is lightly browned and the rendered fat coats the base of the pot.
2. 2
   Add the diced onion and green pepper directly to the rendered fat. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is fully softened and translucent and the pepper has lost its raw crunch. The aromatics should carry the colour of the pork fat and smell of sweet cooked onion, not raw.
3. 3
   Add the crushed tomato and tomato paste. Stir to combine with the aromatics and rendered meat. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. This step is where the dish lives or dies: the raw acidity of the tomato must cook out entirely before the rice goes in — the base should smell sweet, deep, and of concentrated pork and tomato, not sharp or tomatoey-raw. A sauce that has not cooked long enough will leave the finished rice tasting sour and unresolved.
4. 4
   Pour in the warm stock and bring the liquid to a bare simmer. Taste for salt and adjust. Stir in the rinsed rice, distributing it evenly so that the tomato liquid is uniform throughout the pot — no pockets of pale liquid, no white grains visible at the surface. The colour of the liquid and rice together should already be a definitive red-orange, not pink.
5. 5
   Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Cook undisturbed for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not lift the lid; do not stir. At 20 minutes, tilt the pot gently — if liquid sloshes, return the lid and continue. The rice is done when no liquid moves and the grains have absorbed the tomato stock entirely. The surface should appear matte and dry, not glistening wet.
6. 6
   Remove the pot from the heat, lid still in place, and rest for 5 minutes. Uncover and test: the grains should be separate and fluffy, uniformly red-orange from surface to base, moist but not wet. Run a fork lightly through the rice — the grains should part cleanly without clumping. A gummy texture indicates the rice was stirred during cooking.