Many of us know this rice dish as Spanish rice but the Mexicans and Mexican food enthusiasts would probably shrug and wonder if it is called Spanish rice because Mexicans speak Spanish. For Mexicans, it is quite simply, arroz (rice).
Mexican rice is a simple dish to make and like most simple dishes, the key is really technique or ingredients, or sometimes both. With Mexican rice, it is about technique. You want to cook the onions and garlic to such a state that they are softened and can easily melt into the rice. Cooking the rice with the softened onions and garlic until the rice is golden is another key thing to the flavour of Mexican rice. Patience is needed at the start of the dish and then it is a matter of letting it cook on its own.
It’s December 1st and the countdown is on to prepping and searching for recipes for the holidays. We start things off today with Mexican rice that you can make when entertaining instead of the usual Fried rice or Rice and Peas.
To make more than the recipe suggests, simply double the amount of ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup finely chopped onions
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cups long grain parboiled rice, washed and drained well
1 cup tomato sauce
2 ¼ cups water (stock can be used)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnishing – optional
DIRECTIONS
Add oil to a heavy bottomed pot and place on medium heat until hot.
Add onions, reduce heat and let cook until the onions are softened and translucent.
Add garlic and cook with onions until softened (still on low heat); season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add rice and stir to mix well with onion-garlic mixture, raise the heat a little and cook until the rice is golden, stirring a few times to avoid the rice sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Pour in the tomato sauce, add the parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for 2 minutes.
Add water or stock if using, stir, raise heat to medium high and bring the pot to a boil. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes then reduce heat to low and cook undisturbed for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat at the end of the 30 minutes and leave the pot covered for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid of the pot after the 10 minutes, fluff with a fork. Garnish with parsley and serve.
