This is a great side dish for any Mexican dinner. The flavors are fresh and savory, not at all spicy, because the rice is cooked in a broth made with fresh tomato and jalapeño. I prefer this over other recipes I have tried for Mexican rice because it does not have chunks of onion or tomato in it. Squeezing a little lime on the finished rice makes it more authentic and brings out the flavors nicely, but this is optional.
TIPS: Make sure your heat is low while the rice simmers so your rice does not dry out and stick to the bottom of the pot.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 C long grain rice
- 1 tomato cored and quartered
- 1 jalapeño chile stemmed, halved and seeded
- salt and pepper
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1 – 1 1/2 C chicken broth
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
- lime wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Place rice in fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water for 1 1/2 minutes. Shake strainer vigorously to remove all the water and set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, process tomato, jalapeño, garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl if needed. Transfer mixture to a 4 cup measuring cup. Stir to deflate foam, if necessary, then addd enough chicken broth to equal 2 1/2 cups.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat until shimmering. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until edges turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is uniformly colored, about 1 minute. Add liquid tomato mixture and bring to a boil. Stir rice, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let rice rest, covered, for ten minutes. Remove lid and fluff rice. Stir in cilantro if using and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with lime wedges (optional).
- Enjoy!