Pig Out on Rice Bites!
By Julie Cader
It seems there has been a huge bacon explosion in America! I thought it would be fun to create an appetizer that would compete well with other bacon-centric treats from bacon bits in chocolate bars to bacon wrapped cream cheese-filled jalapenos. In fact, an article I recently read noted that bacon is chocked full of a very important nutrient called choline, which keeps our cells and nerves working normally, and helps increase our intelligence and memory. It just keeps getting better!
Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Rice Bites
1 ¾ cups water
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup California short grain brown rice
1 extra large egg
4 cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 apple, finely chopped
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
¾ cup pecans, finely chopped
¾ cup pitted dates, finely chopped
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces bulk Hot Italian Sausage
20 slices of hardwood-smoked peppered, thick bacon, cut in half
Parsley for garnish
Directions
Combine rice, water, butter, and celery salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover with tight-fitting lid and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let rice steam (covered) for another 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and let cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled rice with egg. Combine rice mixture with garlic, parsley, apple, onion, pecans and dates. Stir in curry powder, lemon zest, salt and pepper and sausage. Mix well to combine.
Preheat over to 350.
Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Arrange the bacon strips on the sheet, and take a small mound of stuffing and roll it into a finger-size log. Place the log in the center of each bacon strip, and wrap the bacon around the stuffing.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until bacon is crispy and stuffing is browned and cooked through.
Arrange on a platter, garnish with parsley, and serve warm.
Julie is Finance & Administration Manager for the California Rice Commission, and a big proponent of trying new recipes- especially if they feature California rice.
