Cajun Dirty Rice

Description:

Dirty rice is an iconic soul food dish that has its origins from the slave communities that worked on Louisiana plantations. This dish was born out of necessity, as slaves were often given scraps of chicken meat such as gizzards, liver and other organs, and they had to find a way to stretch it out to make a full meal. By mixing these chicken gizzards with white rice and vegetables, these slaves were able to create a full, nourishing meal. When all of these ingredients were mixed with the white rice, it became “dirty”, hence the name of the dish. Today, it is common to make this dish with other meats, the most common being ground beef and ground pork. This recipe pays homage to the original through addition of chicken liver, along with the more modern adaptations of adding ground pork and beef.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb. ground beef (115 g)

• 1/4 lb ground pork (115 g)

• 1/4 lb. chicken livers (115 g)

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (15 ml)

• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced

• 1/2 medium green bell pepper, finely diced

• 1 stalk celery, finely diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup cooked white rice (200 g)

• 1/4 tsp cayenne (1.5 g)

• 1/4 tsp paprika (1.5 g)

• 1/4 tsp dried oregano (1.5 g)

• 1/4 tsp black pepper (1.5 g)

• Salt

Preparation:

Heat a pan over medium high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken livers and fry for a 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove and chop finely. In the same pan, add more oil if necessary and then add the ground pork and beef. Break up with a spoon and fry until it is well browned, then remove.

Heat the same pan over medium heat and add the onions, peppers & celery and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the liver, pork and beef to the pan and add the cayenne, paprika, oregano and pepper. Stir to combine. Turn off the heat and stir in the white rice, until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Season to taste with salt and serve.

Notes:

• If you don’t like chicken livers feel free to omit from this recipe - however, they do add a nice flavor to the dish and are packed with healthy vitamins.

• Feel free to use just one type of meat if you prefer - this recipe is very flexible.

• You could add other types of chicken gizzards to this recipe as well, just make sure to finely chop them after cooking.