Chef Melba Wilson’s Gullah Geechee Red Rice and Down Home Sausage

Makes 4 Servings:

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 slices of bacon
1 yellow onion, chopped
½ yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
½ pound hot sausage with sage
½ pound Italian pork sausage (hot and/or sweet)
4 cups water
2 cups uncooked long – grain rice
1 (16 – ounce) jar or 2 cups of your favorite homemade tomato sauce Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Grated Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat the oven 350 degrees.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for about 10 minutes, turning to brown on both sides. Remove the cooked bacon and lay it on a paper towel to drain. Add the onion and peppers to the bacon drippings in the pan and saute’ until the peppers are soft and the onion is almost translucent. Add the garlic and sage and saute for 5 minutes more. Remove the vegetable mixture and set aside.

3) Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Cut the sausage into ¼ thick slices. (Some of the sausage may break up, which is fine.). Add it all to the pan and saute for about 10 minutes until cooked through.

4) In a 2 ½ to 3 – quart Dutch oven or an ovenproof baking dish with a lid, combine the water, rice, tomato sauce, sausage, bacon, and the vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan tightly with a lid, if it has one, or with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour or until the rice is done. Remove from the oven and set aside, still covered.

5) Remove the lid, sprinkle the rice lightly with Parmesan cheese, and serve.