Baked Rice

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

Serves 4

You want to make this in a heavy, covered pan that can go from stovetop to oven. I use an old-fashioned CorningWare dish (the one with the blue flower and a glass lid). Any oven-safe saucepan or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid will work.

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.

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 or made with Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base)
1 bay leaf (I use Morton & Bassett)
Salt to taste, if necessary (depending on your broth)

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter (or oil, if using for salad) and sauté the onion 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 for salad), and toss lightly with a fork.

Craig Claiborne calls this recipe The Best Way to Make Rice. The original uses long-grain rice, such as Carolina, which I never used. I used to make this 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.