Seasoned rice

Ingredients

Meat and seasoning

• 500 gchicken thighs, boned and cut in 3 cm dice
• 200 gsalt beef, soaked overnight in cold water and diced (optional but traditional)
• 1 tbspfresh lime juice
• 2 tspAntiguan green seasoning, or 2 tbsp blitzed thyme, spring onion, parsley and garlic
• 1 tspcoarsely ground black pepper

The pot

• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1large onion, finely chopped
• 4spring onions, sliced
• 4garlic cloves, minced
• 1red bell pepper, diced
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 6 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1whole Scotch bonnet, left uncut
• 500 glong-grain rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 400 gcooked pigeon peas, drained
• 150 gcarrot, diced
• 1 litrechicken stock or water
• 1 tspsalt, plus more to taste

To finish

• 1 tbspbutter
• 2 tbspchopped parsley

Directions

1. Season the diced chicken with the lime juice, green seasoning and black pepper and leave 20 minutes while you prepare everything else.
2. If using salt beef, drain it, cover with fresh water, simmer 20 minutes and drain again. Skipping this makes the whole pot inedibly salty.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy pot with a tight lid over medium-high heat and brown the chicken in one layer for 4–5 minutes without moving it, then turn and brown the other side. Lift out.
4. Drop the heat, add the onion, spring onion, garlic and bell pepper and sweat 5 minutes until soft and glossy but not coloured.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and fry 2–3 minutes until it darkens to brick red and the raw tinny smell is gone; this is the step that gives seasoned rice its colour.
6. Return the meat with the thyme, carrot and pigeon peas, then add the rinsed rice and stir for 2 minutes so every grain is coated in the seasoned oil.
7. Pour in the stock, add the salt and lay the whole Scotch bonnet on top. Bring to a hard boil, taste the liquid and correct the salt now, because you cannot season it later.
8. Cover, drop to the lowest heat and cook undisturbed 20–25 minutes, until the liquid is gone and small craters show on the surface.
9. Lift out the Scotch bonnet whole, dot the butter over, fork the rice through from the bottom up, cover again and rest 10 minutes off the heat before serving with parsley.

Technique

• This is a one-pot rice, not a pilaf served with something else: the meat, peas and rice cook together and the seasoning is built in layers before the liquid goes in.
• Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Surface starch is what turns seasoned rice into a sticky mass instead of separate grains.
• Do not lift the lid during the 20 minute steam. Every peek costs steam and leaves you with a hard core in the grain.

Substitutions

• No pigeon peas: black-eyed peas or red kidney beans work, though the flavour is sweeter and less earthy.
• Salt beef can be replaced with 150 g diced smoked bacon or left out entirely.
• No green seasoning: blitz a bunch of parsley, 4 spring onions, 6 thyme sprigs, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt and 3 tbsp oil to a rough paste.

Variations

• A festival pot made with both chicken and salt beef plus diced pumpkin.
• A Sunday version cooked in coconut milk in place of a third of the stock.

History

Rice cooked with pigeon peas, salt meat and herbs in one pot, standard fare at Antiguan celebrations.

Frequently asked questions

What is Seasoned rice?

Seasoned rice is a main from Antigua and Barbuda: one-pot rice cooked with meats and vegetables. Rice cooked with pigeon peas, salt meat and herbs in one pot, standard fare at Antiguan celebrations.

How long does Seasoned rice take to make?

Seasoned rice takes 30 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Seasoned rice?

Yes, within limits. No pigeon peas: black-eyed peas or red kidney beans work, though the flavour is sweeter and less earthy. Salt beef can be replaced with 150 g diced smoked bacon or left out entirely. No green seasoning: blitz a bunch of parsley, 4 spring onions, 6 thyme sprigs, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt and 3 tbsp oil to a rough paste.

What is the most important thing to get right in Seasoned rice?

If using salt beef, drain it, cover with fresh water, simmer 20 minutes and drain again. Skipping this makes the whole pot inedibly salty.