Charleston red rice (Southern USA, Soul food) (Georgia and South Carolina)

Charleston red rice is a typical Soul food dish from the coastal regions of Georgia and South California. Also known locally as simply 'red rice', it's heavily associated with the Gullah people, descendants of the enslaved African-Americans who were brought there from West Africa.

Culinary experts say it's derived from a version of Thieboudienne, a traditional rice dish from Senegal, through a process of creolization, in which the displaced people adapted a dish they already knew to the local ingredients and what they had access to.

It's a recipe that comes together easily and makes for a great main or side. The little bits of bacon lend the entire mass of rice steeped in crushed tomatoes a new richness and flavor, and the sofrito (vegetable base) of onion, celery and bell pepper add extra flavor depth.

Last year: nothing.

Two years ago: nothing.

Three years ago: nothing.

Four years ago: Pizza-ghetti (Canadian).

Five years ago: Pumpkin pie with crunchy spice star biscuits.

Six years ago: American pumpkin pie (from scratch).

Seven years ago: Lemon pepper grilled chicken.

Eight years ago: Frittata with bell pepper and Tirolean sausages (Austrian-style).

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 500 g white rice
• 500 ml crushed tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 tablespoon cooking fat
• 50 g bacon slices (about 8 long thin slices)
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cubed
• 1 celery wedge, peeled and cubed
• salt and pepper to taste
• a bit of water for cooking (depends on whether it's needed)

Heat the cooking fat (oil, lard or butter) in a heavy-bottomed pot. I used a cast iron pot.

Add the bacon slices and let them cook until crispy. Remove them from the pot, leaving all the fat they discarded inside the cooking pot. Keep the bacon aside for later.

Add the chopped onion, bell pepper and celery wedge and cook them over low to medium heat until softened and fragrant.

Add the crushed tomatoes and the rice. Cover and let cook, stirring every now and then, until the rice is done (30 minutes). If the dish becomes too dry, add a little extra water to loosen it and to give the rice extra moisture to absorb.

Towards the end of the cooking time, add the bacon slices, lightly chopped or crumbled, back to the pot. Stir well and remove from the heat. Season with extra salt and pepper. It's done, dig in!