Baked Rice with Cheese (1923) ★★★★★

12:00 AM 1920s , 20th century , 5 stars , interwar , rice , united states 0 Comments

Here's a tasty side dish that dresses up plain old rice a little bit. I chose to add the tomato for some freshness.


Original Recipe:
2 c. boiled rice
1/2 c. cut cheese
1 large tomato, sliced, optional
milk to moisten, about 1/2 cup
buttered breadcrumbs to cover*
sprinkle of paprika

Arrange rice and cheese in alternate layers in buttered baking dish. A layer of tomatoes may be added if desired. Pour milk over. Cover with buttered crumbs and paprika. Bake at 450F until crumbs are brown, 10 - 15 minutes. 

Buttered Breadcrumbs (1932)
*Allow 1/8 as much butter as crumbs. To prepare crumbs, use 1 c. dry bread. Dry thoroughly in oven, then roll to crush. Melt butter, add crumbs, and stir until every crumb is coated.

The Verdict:
So good! Seriously, we had to restrain ourselves from eating the whole dish. This makes enough for about 4 servings, but I recommend you double the recipe because I wish I had more to eat! Mr. Man wanted salt on his, but he likes things really salty. I thought it was perfect just the way it was. I'll definitely make this again, even though it was slightly time consuming to make the breadcrumbs.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from The Farmer's Wife)

The original recipe is easy to follow. If you like the crunchy topping, I would suggest doubling the amount of breadcrumbs to 2 cups, because 1 cup juuuuust barely covered everything.