SHRIMP PILAU
2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 slices bacon
2 cups chopped onion
1-1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice
3 cups chicken broth or bouillon
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Rinse shrimp. In a heavy 3 to 4 quart Dutch oven cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble; set aside. Reserve 3 tablespoons bacon fat. Add onion to reserved bacon fat. Cover and cook until tender. Stir in rice. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mace, and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover and place in oven. Bake 15 minutes, stir in shrimp and crumbled bacon. Cover and return to oven for 10 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from oven, fluff with a fork, and sprinkle with parsley.
In 1680 Captain John Thurber sailed into Charleston, South Carolina harbor, bringing with him a bag of smuggled Madagascar rice. The rice was given to Dr. Henry Woodward who planted it and found that it flourished in the Carolina climate. Soon afterward, the riverbanks in the Low Country were cleared for rice plantations. By the 18th century, rice was important enough to the South Carolinians that they used it for currency and called it "Carolina gold."
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