Mexican Rice

Mexican rice (and its soul-mate refried beans) round out many Mexican and Tex-Mex plates. This recipe is loosely adapted from The Cuisines of Mexico, Diana Kennedy’s 1989 classic. That book is out of print, but its contents are included — along with Mexican Regional Cooking and The Tortilla Book — in The Essential Cuisines of Mexico (2009). Kennedy’s method works beautifully, but we upped the amount of tomato she calls for, simplified the frying step and slightly increased the amount of peas.

If you’d like to make it vegan, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

You’ll need a heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan with a lid or 2-quart Dutch oven. My 2-quart Dansk Kobenstyle casserole (shown above) is the perfect size and shape for this recipe, and I love that it goes from stovetop to table (and can stop in the oven in-between or for re-heating). However, ideally you want something with a heavier bottom, as the rice tends to stick and scorch a bit due to the relatively thin gauge of the enamelware. You’ll also need a clean, absorbent kitchen towel to set atop the rice under the lid during the last part of cooking; this absorbs extra liquid and helps the rice puff up.

It can be cooked in advance and reheated (tightly covered) in a 300-degree oven for about 40 minutes. It also freezes well, wrapped in a foil package. To reheated it, place the still-frozen package on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for about an hour, until it’s heated through.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups long grain rice

1 cup canned diced tomatoes (including some of the liquid)

⅓ medium white onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 ½ tablespoons oil (canola, peanut, safflower or olive oil are all fine)

3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1  teaspoon salt (or more if using unsalted broth)

½ carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

½ cup frozen peas, defrosted

Instructions

1. Place the rice in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let it soak for 10 minutes, then drain the rice well in a sieve.

2. While the rice is soaking, place the tomatoes, onion and garlic in the jar of a blender and blend to a smooth purée (alternatively, you can use an immersion blender). Set aside.

3. In a medium-sized heavy saucepan or 2-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Shake the rice again to make sure it’s well drained, then add it to the pan and stir to coat the rice with the oil; make sure all the grains are coated. Fry the rice over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is pale gold, about 10 minutes.  

4. Add the tomato purée to the rice, turn the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is nearly dry — about three minutes.

5. Stir the chicken broth, salt, carrot and peas into the rice, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium. Without stirring it again, cook it — uncovered — until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 12 to 15 minutes.

6. Place a clean, folded absorbent kitchen towel over the surface of the rice, cover the pan, turn the heat to very low and let the rice continue cooking for 5 minutes longer.

7. Remove from the heat and set it aside, still covered, in a warm place for 30 minutes, during which it will cook and soften more.