Bacon Braised Rice

I received three notes yesterday from three people. Where is this recipe, where is that recipe, where is the other recipe? Three notes, three people, three recipes. It told me I had fallen behind on my blogging. I thought about why this had happened and then I decided there was no use in shaming myself! I am very much an admirer of my blogging friends, like Donna Currie at Cookistry, who never, ever fall behind. I do. but I'm trying to get caught up today with the blog posts I have been wanting to write the most. This is one of them.

I'm in a cookbook group and last year we all cooked from Edward Lee's Smoke & Pickles.  I'm not really a big rice fan but who doesn't love bacon? So I tried this recipe and everyone loved it! My favorite thing about it is I learned if you are out of parsley, you can chop up the inner leaves of a bunch of celery. WOW! Paradigm shift! I have celery almost always! The parsley in my herb garden is hit or miss and if I keep parsley from the store too long it quickly gets moldy so this is a great tip for me. Hope it is for you as well.

Braised Bacon Rice
adapted from Smoke & Pickles

8 ounces slab bacon*, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred, of course!
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 cup white rice, we use Jasmine
2 Tablespoons celery leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
salt and pepper

Cook the bacon over low heat in a Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot until all the fat is rendered. Add the onions, the celery, and the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the next three ingredients and then add the two liquids. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the contents of the pot to a boil.  Add the rice and lower the heat to medium to medium-low depending upon your stove top. Simmer for about 16 minutes uncovered. At this point, most of the liquid is absorbed and you can add the celery leaves, butter, salt and pepper. Leave on the hot stove until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Serve.

*If you don't have slab bacon on hand, you can use the kind of bacon you like, cut into a dice or lardons.