Shrimp Pilau ala Nikki

My dear friend, Nikki Merritt, served this dish to the vestry. Once again, as we’ve come to expect from her, she hit a homer! Thank you, so much. (Nikki says this is from one of the Junior League of Charleston Cookbooks. When I read, “Receipts” in her email, I thought it was a typo. I’ve since learned, that’s what they called recipes in Charleston in the 1800s. And who knows? Maybe they still do today.)

[PS: After doing this a few times, I looked around and read about this traditional dish; here’s more about it and a different recipe. While you’re at it, you might check out jambalya! Enjoy!]

Ingredients

2 cups raw rice
1 cup mayo
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 lbs. shrimp, cooked & peeled
4 slices bacon, cut in small pieces

Directions

Cook rice in steamer.

Combine mayo, ketchup, salt and pepper; stir into warm rice to thoroughly moisten.

Add chopped onion, bell pepper and shrimp.

Pour into casserole dish and cover with pieces of bacon. Sprinkle top with pepper.

Cook covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove tinfoil and cook an additional 15 minutes to let the bacon crisp.

(Nikki uses more bacon and serves with Tobasco or some other hot sauce.)