Southern red rice with okra
Lowcountry red rice baked low and slow with tomatoes, peppers, smoked paprika and crispy-edged okra, a smoky, meatless one-pot supper.
- 80 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.96 a serving
- 440 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 cups okra, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1½ cups crushed tomatoes
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Each serving has about 440 calories, 9 g protein, 76 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $1.96 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a over medium-high heat.
Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy pot, usually enameled cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid. It holds heat evenly, so it’s great for soups, stews and anything that simmers a long time.
How you’ll know: Any large, heavy pot with a lid does the same job if you don’t have one.
Medium-high heat
Add the okra in one layer and cook 5 minutes, turning once, until .
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Browning the okra first keeps it from going slippery in the rice.Move it to a plate.
Turn the heat to medium, add the rest of the oil, the onion, celery and pepper, and cook, stirring now and then, 6 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Stir in the garlic, paprika, thyme, cayenne and tomato paste for 1 minute.
Medium heat
Add the rice and stir 1 minute, until coated.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, broth, salt and hot sauce, , then stir the okra back in.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heat
Cover the pot and 45 minutes, until the rice is tender and has soaked up the liquid.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 45 min
Dolly’s tip: Baking cooks the rice evenly with no scorched bottom and no stirring.Let it sit, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve topped with green onions and more hot sauce.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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