Indigo’s Rice Shows Its Colors

Flavorful rice dishes in vibrant red and green hues star at Indigo Landing, an Alexandria, Va., restaurant known for its Contemporary Southern Low Country cooking.

Flavorful rice dishes in vibrant red and green hues star at Indigo Landing, an Alexandria, Va., restaurant known for its Contemporary Southern Low Country cooking. Chef Bryan Moscatello’s version of Charleston Red Rice with Bacon and Tomatoes ($7), a traditional side dish of the region, is made with long-grain U.S.-grown rice coated with rendered bacon fat, cooked with shallots and garlic and simmered with chicken stock, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chili flakes and thyme.

His take on Green Rice, a local favorite customarily made by adding chopped fresh herbs to cooked rice, relies instead on intensely flavored vegetable and herb stocks. To begin, he simmers the rice in leek stock until nearly done and holds it for service. At pickup, he finishes it by simmering with a vivid green stock of blanched scallions, leeks, chives and tarragon. “Rice is a big part of Low Country cooking,” says Moscatello. “We want to stay true to this regional cuisine.”