The Hungry Canary

Adapted from Ideals Family Cookbook · Fay Broyhill Edmonds

St. Paul’s Rice

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Ingredients

  • 1 lb bulk sausage
  • 1 bell pepper, finely chopped (original ingredient)
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped (replaces 1 chopped onion)
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 package instant chicken noodle soup (original); for a wheat-free version, use a comparable gluten-free chicken noodle soup mix or suitable chicken bouillon and gluten-free noodles
  • 1 cup regular uncooked rice
  • 4½ cups water
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • Chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 300°F. Cook the sausage in a skillet, breaking it into small pieces. Drain excess grease and remove the sausage.
  2. In the skillet, sauté the chopped fennel, bell pepper and celery until softened.
  3. Mix the instant chicken noodle soup or suitable wheat-free substitute into 4½ cups water. Add the rice and cook for 7 minutes, following the historical recipe’s brief precooking step.
  4. Combine sausage, sautéed vegetables and rice-soup mixture in a large baking dish, including the remaining liquid. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top.
  5. Bake at 300°F for approximately 1 hour, until the rice is tender and the casserole is cooked through. If the substitute soup or rice needs a different amount of liquid or cooking time, adjust as needed.
  6. Just before serving, sprinkle a border of chopped parsley around the edge. Serves 4.

Cookbook source

“St. Paul’s Rice,” contributed by Fay Broyhill Edmonds to the Ideals Family Cookbook, page 21. The original uses one pound bulk sausage, one finely chopped bell pepper, one chopped onion, one cup chopped celery, one package instant chicken noodle soup, one cup uncooked regular rice, four-and-a-half cups water, half a cup slivered almonds and chopped parsley. The rice and soup are cooked together for seven minutes, then everything is baked at 300°F for one hour. Yield: four servings.

Hungry Canary substitutions

Onion: Chopped fennel bulb takes the place of the original medium onion. Instant chicken noodle soup: The original packet may contain wheat noodles and wheat-based thickeners. A gluten-free instant chicken noodle soup mix is the closest replacement; alternatively use chicken bouillon with appropriate gluten-free noodles. Packet size was not specified, so season and adjust liquid based on the product chosen. Bell pepper: Remains in the original recipe; replace with another suitable vegetable if avoiding nightshades.

Testing note

Modern rice varieties and soup mixes can absorb liquid differently. The original 4½ cups water and seven-minute stovetop precook are preserved as a starting point, but final liquid and bake time may require adjustment.