Creamy Rice with Shrimp and Okra
Okra is a comfort food to me. Maybe it’s the association with khoresh-e bamiyeh, but I always try to add the vegetable to anything I can: soups, stir-fries and stews. When I came across this recipe featuring it with rice and shrimp (and flecks of bacon!), I knew it would be a winner.
Make sure to eat this soon after you cook it. Because of the grains’ creamy consistency, it doesn’t reheat well the next day, having absorbed all the liquid.
Ingredients:
2 slices turkey bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 quarts chicken broth
salt
2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
1 tomato, diced
1/2 pound okra, trimmed and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
3/4 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1. In a large, heavy pot, cook the bacon in the olive oil over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon, crumble into small pieces and set aside.
2. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme sprig and crushed red pepper to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Add the rice and return to a boil, stirring. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is barely tender and still soupy, about 12 minutes.
3. Add the tomato and okra to the pot and cook until it is just tender, about 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and curled, 3 minutes; the rice should still be a little soupy. Discard the thyme sprig and bay leaf and remove from the heat.
4. Stir in the parsley, butter and bacon and serve.