Baked Rice

Adapted from Craig Claiborne’s Kitchen Primer (Wings; 2nd thus edition, June 29, 1993). Attributed by Claiborne to his good friend Pierre Franey.

Craig Claiborne calls this recipe The Best Way to Make Rice. The original uses long-grain rice, which I never did. Aunt Rita made it as perfectly as the Chinese neighbor on Claremont Avenue who taught her. My cousin, Barbara Gail, acquired this talent, although—try as I might—I never did. I used to make this dish with Uncle Ben’s, which always turned out well, but now I use Basmati Rice, Extra-Long Grain, Dehraduni (Super Quality), which I buy in ten-pound bags from Kalustyan’s. The results are reliably flavorful.

You want to make this in a heavy saucepan with a secure, tight lid. I use an old-fashioned CorningWare dish (the one with a blue flower on it and a glass lid). A small porcelain enamel–coated cast-iron pan, like a Le Creuset, would work well here, but most people don’t have one as small as 2 quarts, which is what would be ideal.

This is the rice I use as the base for Randi’s Rice Salad—an excellent make-ahead dish for picnics, buffets, or summer suppers. If you are making it for that salad, use olive oil instead of butter, reduce the amount to 2 tablespoons, and don’t add any more after cooking.

Ingredients
2½ tablespoons butter (or 2 tablespoons olive oil, if using for rice salad)
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup basmati rice
2 drops Tabasco sauce
1½ cups broth (chicken broth or broth made with Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base, which is what I use)
1 bay leaf (I use Morton & Bassett)
Salt to taste, if necessary (depending on how salty your broth is)

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter (or oil, if using this for salad) and sauté the onion in it until translucent but not browned.

Add the rice and stir for about 30 seconds, coating the grains with the butter. Add the broth, Tabasco sauce, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Cover and place the pan in the oven.

Cook for exactly 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the remaining ½ tablespoon butter (omit if making this for salad), and toss lightly with a fork.