My Spanish Rice Recipe

Have I ever mentioned before that rice used to scare me? Rice was my nemesis FOREVER! I finally gave up years ago and bought a rice cooker and that was that. For years! I just thought it was physically impossible for me to make a good batch of rice.

Then I watched Nigella make a rice pilaf and realized there was a kind of rice I wanted to make. Rice always seemed boring to me, was I ever wrong! I started figuring out the ins and outs of making rice and came up with my own technique. Once I realized you can be creative with rice and it does not have to be bland, it all came together.

Chop up 1/2 a red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper. Saute in olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add in one cup of rice, I use Rooster Scented Rice. Stir around and cover with the oil and let it brown for a few minutes.

Add 1 tbsp of minced garlic, 1/2 a jalapeno finely chopped and 1 minced shallot. Season with salt and pepper.

Add some chipotle, the amount is up to you and how spicy you want the rice to be. I get a can of chipotles, remove the seeds from them and chop everything together and put it in a Ziploc bag. I roll it up into a cylinder, freeze it and then when I need it I grate it in. You can just use the chipotles out of a can and keep the seeds if you want that additional heat. I use about 1 tsp of chipotle. It gives the rice a nice colour and fantastic flavour. If you want a more golden colour, feel free to add some turmeric, so good for you and it gives the rice a nice saffron glow.

Add two cups of soup stock, I used chicken. With a spatula make sure all the rice gets into the broth and then raise the heat and bring everything to a boil. Once it boils, cover and turn down the heat. This is where I always used to screw up. You want the pot to be hot enough that a little bit of steam is coming out the side but not a lot. Just enough to know that the pot is hot enough to cook the rice without overcooking it. Keep it cooking for 15 minutes.

Uncover then add some frozen peas, about 1/3 of a cup. Cover and set aside until the rest of dinner is ready. The heat of the rice will gently cook the peas in a couple of minutes.

This is one of my husband’s favourite dishes in the world! No one love rice as much as he does and even I like it and I am not a huge rice fan. It is tasty and goes perfectly with Mexican dishes and barbecued dinners as well. It has a nice little kick from the chipotle and tons of flavour from the broth and veggies. I make this rice all the time and if I can do it, you can too!