Skills you will learn in this recipe
Using the ‘Holy Trinity’ as a base; choosing, peeling & frying mushrooms
Links to the last recipe
Making a dish featuring sausagemeat; skinning sausages
We love dirty rice, it’s so simple & comforting. It’s also very straightforward to make, and yet so flavourful. We love the classic version, made ‘dirty’ with fried chicken livers, but we realise not everyone will want to use these (they are also fiddly to prepare if you are new to them). So we’ve invented this ‘not so’ dirty rice, which uses mushrooms to make it dirty instead!
We think it’s just as delicious as the original, but you need the right mushrooms for the optimal ‘dirty’ look, as well as for the best flavour. Ideally you need really large flat mushrooms, with very dark to black centres. These are normally sold in supermarkets as either ‘large flat mushrooms’ or ‘large field mushrooms’, not to be confused with the similar large portobello mushrooms. You can use portobello mushrooms if you can’t find flat ones – it’ll still be a lovely dish, but will just lack a little of the ‘dirtiness’.
The other key ingredients are the Cajun & Creole classic ‘Holy Trinity’ of onions, peppers (nearly always green peppers) and celery. This is almost ubiquitous among this style of cuisine, and lends it a very distinctive flavour profile, which we love. You also need good sausages. Unfortunately, the ideal sausage, Andouille – a Cajun spiced smoked pork sausage – is very hard to find in the UK, and if you can find them, likely expensive. But if you see them inexpensively or have them in your region, use them!
The most often quoted substitutes for Andouille are chorizo or certain Polish sausages such as kielbasa. We are sure any of these would work, but we like a softer sausage in this dish. This is in part to more closely replicate the texture you get from using chicken livers in the original. Try to find sausages that are spiced, and slightly smoky – today we found some nice ‘chorizo style’ ones.
We really like Cajun & Creole cuisine, and we do cook a few other classics including jambalaya and gumbo. But we are also lucky to live a very short walk from the excellent Louisiana gastropub, Plaquemine Lock. So you’ll often find us there enjoying oysters, beignets, cornbread and po’boys. Plus of course their various lovely versions of dirty rice, whenever they have it on the menu. (Though ours is a bit different, sorry Plaq Lock!) Plaq Lock also happens to be Jake’s favourite pub – he’s always trying to take us there on walks. We kid you not.
Jake sticks his nose in
Yes, I do love Plaq Lock. It was one of the first places I went to in London as a puppy. I really do try to take my family there whenever they let me take them for a walk. The also do a good happy hour and often have jazz in the evenings and at weekends. Plus they do excellent shrimp!
To make the dirty rice, first prepare the ‘Holy Trinity’. Peel & chop a large onion, medium. See our onion Tip. Set aside in a bowl.
Now chop the green pepper, into pieces about the same size as the onion. To do this, cut off the top, and remove the pips and central white core & pith. Slice the body into rounds, then chop, removing any additional white. Also chop the top, removing the stalk. Add to the same bowl with the onion.
Finally, chop the celery. Remove the top and bottom of each stalk, cut into batons. then chop into similar sized pieces to the onion & pepper. Add to the bowl. Your Holy Trinity is prepped.
Now peel & chop some garlic, fairly roughly is fine. See our garlic Tip. How much you use depends on personal taste, but in this dish we prefer to keep it subtle, so we use about two cloves. Place in a separate bowl.
Now prepare the sausages. If you are using soft sausages, as we did today, remove the sausages from their skins, just as we did in the last recipe, Sausage Pasta. Cut the sausages through the skin along the length and tease the meat out. Chop or break into bite sized pieces, and set aside. If you use a firmer sausage, chop it into medium dice.
Jake sticks his nose in
In the last recipe, Sausage Pasta, we broke the sausagemeat up into the sauce on cooking. In this dirty rice recipe, it is better to keep it in bite-sized chunks, so don’t break it up too much at this stage.
Next, snip some spring onions. Chop off the rooty end, then peel off the outer layer. Snip quite finely, including some of the green. This is easiest with scissors.
You now need to prepare the mushrooms that will make your dirty rice (not so) dirty! For most mushrooms, and in most dishes using them, we normally say that wiping the mushrooms down with kitchen paper to remove any dirt is enough if you don’t want to peel them. But with these large flat mushrooms, and in this dish, we think you get a better result if you do peel them. The good news is that large mushrooms are much easier to peel than small ones!
Jake sticks his nose in
We mentioned that the best mushrooms to use here are large flat (or field) mushrooms. These are white mushrooms that have been allowed to grow big. Portobello mushrooms, the slightly less good alternative, are conversely chestnut mushrooms that have been left to grow big! They are similar, but the softer texture and darker colour of flat mushrooms is better in this dirty rice.
Trim a little of the stem, if it looks dry, then peel back the skins. This is easiest if you start by catching a loose flap of skin, near the stem, and peel it off towards the top of the mushroom. Repeat until the mushroom is peeled. It is OK if a little skin remains at the top. Now slice the mushrooms, quite thickly, and chop roughly.
Your mise en place is ready, and your prep is pretty much done!
When you are ready to cook, heat a little oil in a large wok or high-sided frying pan. Today we used groundnut oil. When the oil is hot – test it by hovering your hand above – add the sausagemeat chunks, and fry, stirring, until the fat runs and they are golden and evenly coloured.
Now add the ‘Holy Trinity’ and fry, stirring, until the vegetables just begin to soften. Don’t overcook at this stage, as you want them to retain some bite, a few minutes. Only add more oil if you feel you need it or your sausages were dry ones – if fat has run from your sausages, it should be enough.
While the vegetables are cooking, measure out the rice. You should ideally use long grain rice in this dish. Today, for 4 people as a main, we used about 1 1/2 cups. If you are serving the dirty rice as a side, this would serve about 6 to 8 people. If you don’t have cup measures, for 4 people we use about a coffee mug full of rice. Also measure out the stock into a small saucepan. Today we used fresh chicken stock, but stock from a cube or gel ‘stock pot’ would do fine – chicken, pork or vegetable work best. You need about 2 1/2 cups or 600ml. Set the stock over a medium heat to warm through.
When the vegetables have softened slightly, add the chopped garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of celery salt (or celery seeds) and a teaspoon or two of chilli powder (or other hot spice, such as cayenne), or to taste. We like our dirty rice to have a little ‘kick’ as befits Louisiana cooking, so we add about two teaspoons, then taste later and adjust if needed with more chilli or hot sauce. Also add one or two bay leaves; dried are better in this dish, but fresh are fine too.
Jake sticks his nose in
You can make the dirty rice as spicy or not as you like. In most Cajun & Creole restaurants you’ll see bottles of hot sauce on the tables so diners can adjust the heat to their taste. So we do that too.
Stir to combine, then add the rice and stir well again.
Now add the warmed stock, and stir well again. Turn the heat up until the liquid just begins to boil, then cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down low. Let the dirty rice simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the stock.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the mushrooms that will ‘dirty’ it. First, chop a few pickled peppers. You can use hot ones like jalapeños if you prefer, but we like the sweetness and pop of colour that sweet piquanté peppers bring. We used a few more of the ones gifted to us recently by our friends at Peppadew. Today we used four sweet Peppadew peppers.
Now, add a good slug of oil to a separate frying pan, and set over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped mushrooms, and fry, stirring, until they turn brownish black and begin to release some juices, about 5 to 6 minutes. See the last picture below. Add more oil if the mushrooms start to stick.
Jake sticks his nose in
Some tips for frying the mushrooms. First, choose a pan large enough to hold them all comfortably, ideally in a single layer. If you overcrowd the pan, the mushrooms will steam, not fry. Also, don’t add too much oil – mushrooms will take up almost as much oil as you add! Use just enough to stop them from sticking, so they end up tender, but not greasy. Finally, don’t add salt when first frying – it will bring out too much liquid. Season only at the end.
When the mushrooms are nice and browned, add the chopped sweet peppers, the chopped spring onions, and season with a little celery salt (or plain salt) & chilli powder, to taste. Keep a few spring onions back to garnish. Stir and cook for another minute or two. It’s better if the spring onions to retain some bite, so only cook briefly. The mushrooms should look juicy and black, as below, to really ‘dirty’ the rice.
When the rice looks ready, test a few grains by biting into them – they should feel tender, and the rice should look juicy, but fairly dry. You can see how it changes during cooking in the pictures below.
Now add the mushrooms and stir well to combine.
Your dirty rice is done!
Dirty rice can be a meal in itself, either alone, or it’s good topped with a fried egg! But we like something fresh and crunchy with it, so today we served it with our Cajun Coleslaw, see the recipe here. But it also makes a good side dish, particularly for simply cooked meats. It’s often served with fried chicken, and we think it also goes particularly well with roasted duck. At Plaquemine Lock they often do it with quail.
Garnish with the reserved spring onions, and serve alone, or with the side of your choice.
Bon appétit! Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Delightful (Not So) Dirty Rice
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel & chop the onion, medium. See our onion Tip. Also core & chop the green pepper. Top and tail the celery, cut into batons and chop. Place all three – the 'Holy Trinity' – in the same bowl and reserve.
- Peel & chop the garlic. See our garlic Tip. Set aside, separately from the vegetables.
- Skin the sausages, as we did for Sausage Pasta. Chop or break the sausagemeat into bite-sized pieces.
- Peel, then slice and chop the mushrooms. Top & tail the spring onions, remove the outer layer, then snip, quite finely, with scissors. Set both aside.
- Heat a little groundnut oil in a large pan that has a lid, and set over a medium heat When the oil is hot, add the sausagemeat and fry, stirring, until evenly browned and the fat begins to run. Do not break the sausage up too much.
- When the sausage is browned, add the 'Holy Trinity' vegetables, and stir for a few minutes until they just begin to soften, but still retain some bite.
- Measure out the rice. Also measure out the stock, and place in a pan over a medium heat to warm.
- Once the vegetables have started to soften, add the garlic, 2 tsps of the chilli powder, 1/2 tsp of the celery salt, plus the bay leaves, and stir to combine. Add the rice and stir well.
- Now add the warmed stock and stir well again. Turn the heat up and bring just to the boil, then cover with the lid and turn the heat down. Simmer until the rice has soaked up all the liquid, about 20 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the garnish. Chop the sweet piquanté peppers. Place a good slug of groundnut oil in a second pan, large enough to comfortably hold all the mushrooms, and set over a medium heat.
- When the oil is warm, add the mushrooms and fry, stirring, until the are well-browned and almost black in appearance – about 5 to 6 minutes. Only add more oil if the mushrooms stick.
- When the mushrooms have browned, add the chopped sweet piquanté peppers and spring onions, keeping a few spring onions aside to garnish. Season with more chilli powder and celery salt, to taste. Stir to combine for a minute or two – it's better if the spring onions retain some bite.
- When the rice looks cooked, test a few grains by biting into them. They should be tender and juicy, though the rice mixture should look fairly dry. Add the mushroom mixture, and stir well.
- Serve immediately, garnished with the reserved spring onions. Dirty rice can be served alone as a main dish, or as a side. It's good topped with a fried egg, or served with simply cooked meat or game. Today we served it with our Cajun Coleslaw, for a little crunch – a good combination. See the coleslaw recipe here.
- Bon appétit!
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