At our house we love Mexican food. So much so that I have made a lot of inter-cuisine concoctions that we flavor with Mexican condiments just to satisfy our Mexican cravings. For example, I regularly make 'tacos' with whole wheat pita breads or 'burritos' with some mild curry and salsa. I always buy a pack of pita bread whenever I visit Trade Joe's (their whole wheat pitas are the best!). On some weekday evenings when I come back from office craving Mexican, all I do is put the Spanish rice on stove and while its cooking make a quick guacamole and a black bean tomato salsa (frozen avocados, frozen corn and canned black beans all have permanent reserved places in my pantry). I stuff the pitas with salsa, rice and avocados and may be some Monterey Jack cheese and thats it! A satisfying Mexican meal on table in less than 30-minutes and without a trip to a grocery store!
So, that brings me to today's recipe: spanish rice. I have been making this recipe for so long that I don't even remember its source.. this is the perfect Spanish rice recipe I have tried. The rice always turns out so soft and moist and fluffy with a nice tomato, oregano flavor. If fresh tomatoes are not in season, use tomato paste. Infact tomato paste gives a deeper red hue than fresh tomatoes but I like the taste of fresh tomatoes better.
Recipe:
Source: unknown
Ingredients:
1C white long-grain rice
2C water
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1 clove of garlic - crushed
2 tomatoes - chopped into large pieces
1Tbsp tomato paste (if using no fresh tomatoes - I skipped the tomato paste)
pinch of dried oregano (or fresh!)
1Tbsp olive oil
salt
Recipe:
- Heat olive oil in a large pot.
- Add the rice and toast for a couple of minutes until the rice is aromatic (couple of mins).
- Add onions and garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add chopped tomatoes, water and salt.
- Bring the mixture to boil then reduce heat to simmer. Cook covered for 15-20mins until all the water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat, mix well with a light hand and serve!
